The illest rhymer to ever come out of Chiang Mai, Thai rapper Illslick first honed his tough style in the underground mixtape scene amid a series of fierce freestyle battles. His sound is equal parts ‘80s R&B jams (plenty of 808s and vintage synth squiggle) and molasses-slow dancehall flow, as he remains ever ready to hoist his microphone in a salute to fun times and nasty beats. Matched up with a killer DJ, his MC skills simply slay the competition. But behind that bad boy persona also lurks a real softie—when he shifts into tentative English for his lover-man choruses, get ready to swoon.