Sitting near the top of Sydney rap circles just a few years after breaking through with 2019’s “No Effect,” Hooligan Hefs adds more range and nuance to his hardened delivery on his second EP. There are still tough tales of gun- and drugs-riddled city life—see “For Sure,” featuring fellow Sydneysider Ay Huncho—but Hefs experiments with softer backdrops on “1 of 1” and “On and On” without losing any of his lyrical oomph. The beat of “Checkmate” even drops away briefly to highlight a freestyle-esque flourish, while the closing “And We” rides a slippery hook to hammer home Hefs’ signature themes of defiance and resilience against the odds. Australian Samoan rapper Youngn Lipz lends softer tones to “If I Want To,” suiting Hefs’ more personal revelations on the track. These eight songs cement Hooligan Hefs’ status as an unflinching scene leader while showing how much room he has to move around in his increasingly layered persona.