Sly Boogy - "Fresh Out The Halfway" 

Available now on streaming platforms!

 Coming off a long hiatus, partly involving the serving of a prison sentence, Sly Boogy is back with his latest offering: "Fresh out the Halfway". The term references his release from what is technically referred to as a residential re-entry center or "halfway house", a transitional housing facility to which inmates are released that serves as a program that is supposed to assist the inmate in re-establishing community ties and reducing the risk of recidivism. This 6-piece collection is a continuation of where he last left off. The last release, "The Beauty of Death" in 2008, was the most recent of a collection of releases following his shelving at J Records. There has been great speculation surrounding the reason for the shelving though Sly has maintained that it was due to the clashing of the parties involved over the creative and marketing direction. Nevertheless, Boogy continued to create through the hiatus with collaborations, continuous writing and stepping into the role of production. 

The intro track, "Give It 2 Ya", opens the mixtape with the verbally toxic, shit-talking bars..his signature style when first introduced to the world stage. Track #3, "The Covid -Tha E-mix" is also seasoned with that same style with some sick humor on the chorus. Track #2, "Free", produced by Dr. Stank, is somewhat of a hip hop..ghetto negro spiritual with Sly singing a song of rejoice from being released from bondage (from prison and, later, "the halfway") directly into probation where he details the oppressive circumstances and the psychological effects. Track #5, "Nasty-Tha G-mix", is a bouncy, light-hearted, fun & flirty, sing songy track. It's preceded (#4) by a skit with a young lady reprimanding him for not recognizing and acknowledging her social media clout/status. Sly playfully clowns & croons a melody of validation to appease her. Track #6, "Blowin' Smoke", is another song of joy from being released from "paper" (probation) in which he touches on systemic racism, marginalization, and being up against the "mechanisms of recidivism." Track #7, "Still Gon Luv U", a sharp veer into a slightly awkward but very interesting direction, is a song that touches on the exploitation of creative artists and their work. Told from the perspective of an aspiring artist coming from nothing with the "American dream" of earning an honest living from their creative labor and being deprived of their earnings and the fallout from it...still vowing to show love to the music community regardless of those who are complicit in the thievery and exploitation. This has been a topic of intrigue for Sly with the recent stepping forward of artists with royalty grievances. The outro sends a message of prayer, upliftment and hope to artists who are, and have been, suffering.

This is the beginning of a journey. Welcome! ...And stay tuned!

Staff