Blxck Cxsper
EUROSTAR vol.1
Trans Trenderz
Montreal, QC
RIYL: Juice WRLD; Rihanna; Capricorns

Boasting untameable Capricorn energy, this September mixtape from Trans Trenderz founder Blxck Cxsper was supposedly assembled in two weeks, but it rallies a cast of producers and features that could speak to months of calculations. Cxsper’s syrupy vocal flow spills out early on an English rendition of Belgian rapper Hamza’s “Life” and creeps across the tape like a mudslide, but tightly wound trap rhythms and twinkling melodies keep things in a dreamy state of motion. 

Tracks like “Castle” invigorate the space with a breeze and boom that commands attention, while Cxsper reclaims Harry Potter and the Mona Lisa from a TERF patriarchy, articulating their subjects as affectionate pet names for trans lovers. Younga’s production work on “Gare Du Nord” puts the cherry on top, stirring up loose and pulsing sounds that could occupy the same cloudy atmospheres as Rihanna’s “Needed Me.” Blxck Cxsper flips the switch on that track’s sense of rejection, licking the spoon in English and French: “found love in the dark, found love I could lie in.”

– Tom Beedham