8. “Get Away”

Blxst & Bino Rideaux | Sixtape 3

If my fingers had still been working for fun the past couple of years, you probably would’ve gotten tired of seeing me write about Blxst, maybe my favorite musical discovery this side of Ty Dolla $ign nearly a decade ago.

Another pandemic-era find, Blxst has already somewhat rejected the Nate Dogg comparisons, but it remains a convenient if not correct connection to make. Blxst’s appeal has always been in his efficiency – his ethos has to be “work smarter, not harder” – but in a way that belies an easiness to this job that most certainly does not exist. I saw him perform live as the world reopened in 2021; his background singer Cheyenne Wright was a powerhouse vocalist in a way he frankly isn’t, and never once did he allow her presence to impact his performance. He knows those things at which he’s exceptional, and he sticks to them. You have to respect it.

Sixtape 3, the third project in his series with frequent collaborator Bino Rideaux, doesn’t reinvent any wheels, but it does reemphasize that Blxst is very good at his brand of rap&B, and “Get Away” is the tape’s best example. Bino’s braggadocious lead verse cedes to Blxst’s now-signature brand of cool: Let a bag blow like I’m playing the flute / I’m a asshole but I cater to you / It’s just one word I wanna hear when I tell you come here… Can’t get much more to the point than that. Maybe he should be my editor?