Lex the Lexicon Artist is an emcee originally from Taiwan, but started her music career in the Bay Area before moving on to New York. She’s been putting out music for the last five years, quickly getting embraced by the nerdcore scene and beyond, with two excellent LPs and numerous themed projects, collaborations and more. There have been singles and features since then, but the last substantial project we got from Lex was 2020’s Lex and the City. Now she’s back with a themed EP, Daughters of Ymir.

Daughters of Ymir is an EP based on the anime/manga Attack on Titan, specifically dedicated to the women in the show. Or, in Lex’s own words, “Inspired by the women of AoT: funny, fierce, and full of feels.” Now, whenever an artist does a project like this, there is always the question of whether or not this would be enjoyable to someone who has not spent time with the source material. The answer is here is that overall it most certainly can be enjoyed for those who haven’t watched, with the exception of a song like “Chimp Simp,” which might just be a bit too specific and weird to listen to with no context. That said, it is a very enjoyable hip hop project, with lots of great electro-hip hop production coming from mono no audio and Noir Grimes, giving the project this retro-futuristic sound that fits the project really well. Lex is an accomplished emcee who feels very comfortable working in this style, and in working through the lyrics to this project, she does a great job of getting to the heart of the emotional content of these characters and finding what make them relatable and/or fascinating to Lex. On top of all that, we get a couple of interesting guest spots. One is from FrivolousShara, who comes in on “Two Sides of the Sea” with a ton of charisma and skill on the mic, and will have you rushing to learn more about her if you don’t already know. The other comes on the closing track, “Atkatsuki no Requiem,” featuring Otaku Ongaku, who help Lex deliver this piano power ballad that somehow manages to make sense alongside the rest of the tracks.

Daughters of Ymir is an interesting project from Lex the Lexicon Artist, someone who is always growing and evolving and trying out different things. With this EP, she went further with a particular style of production, and went deep on some character studies, and delivered a themed project that works even for those potential listeners who aren’t up on Attack on Titan.