New York City has been an absolute hotbed for rising stars, and Sleepy Hallow just might be one of the biggest names on the come-up. In order to keep the momentum up, he decided to drop off a brand-new song entitled “2 Sauce” as well as an accompanying music video that is as clean as the single itself. Opening up with a Great John-produced instrumental, you can hear piano keys combined with a soulful vocal sample that creates an addicting melody prior to some trademark NYC Drill percussion and drums entering the picture, paving the perfect foundation for Sleepy to go to town.
One of the most appealing qualities within a Sleepy Hallow song, at least in my opinion, is the fact that his deep voice just works so well when mixed with a higher-pitched vocal chop like the one heard in this record, so I knew it was going to be a hit from the moment I pressed play. Moving on from this, it seems like he is barely putting any effort towards his delivery, yet his cadences are smooth and fluid, so the fact that he’s able to pull this off without getting too over-enthusiastic is definitely something to pay attention to. It does seem like some of his bars could use a little more fine-tuning than they were given during specific moments, but for the most part, it seems like he does his best to bring outside of the box flows into the picture, and I definitely give him credit for this as well.
As far as the Dead Fly Films-shot music video, things are kept extremely clean as he heads into a film studio with an all-white setting where you can see a few matching luxury cars during certain shots. Other scenes show Sleepy joined by his crew, one of which is his close friend and frequent collaborator Sheff G, as the entire crowd bounces around and vibes out to the record. Another clip shows Sleepy standing in a spotlight as a motorcycle rider does wheelies and donuts around the rapper. Finally, some of the most interesting moments throughout the visual come when a greenscreen seems to be used as colorful and vivid animations take over the screen, flying around Sleepy as he continues to spit his bars.
Although it seems like it’s going to take so much time and effort before Sleepy Hallow soars to the Pop Smoke, Fivio Foreign, and Lil Tjay levels of recognition, I like the lane he’s in now and it’s obvious that he does too. There is this gritty, sort of underground aesthetic to his music that I think can get lost if he gets any bigger, yet he seems like the type of artist that would maintain his integrity and not lose these qualities even with growth. While I’m personally not sure what we can expect from Sleepy Hallow this year, I’m sure he’s got some insane moves up his sleeve, so make sure to keep up with the rising NYC talent and check out his most recent release called “2 Sauce” as soon as you can.