Hip Hop’s youth movement is at peak fruition, and fans continue to reap the harvests. Thus far in 2015, young artists like Joey Bada$$ and Earl Sweatshirt have dropped critically acclaimed new albums while simultaneously shining a light on the current landscape. There is a plethora of young and talented emcees making waves. One in particular, Bishop Nehru, is capitalizing on the sentiment.
The 19 year-old Mass Appeal emcee’s latest, Nehruvia: The Nehruvian EP is a teaser of sorts for fans awaiting his debut LP, expected to drop later this year. The EP is a collection of seven songs with an Intro, ultimately deemed “too raw sonically for the album.” As such, Nehruvia: The Nehruvian EP doesn’t play like a completed project beginning to end, but it does give a glimpse inside the creative process for Bishop’s Mass Appeal debut.
We know for certain that Bishop can rhyme. Mass Appeal certainly isn’t lacking in the lyricist department, with Nas, Fashawn and Run The Jewels in tow; Bishop’s roster spot is an enormous testament to his abilities. He uses multiple modes of articulation, be it metaphoric prose (“MansSin”) or just straight bar-for-bar rhyming. On the third track, “U$ers,” he takes the introspective route, observing his career from afar: “I’ve been thinking too much so it’s hard for me to see / The direct path of light and what I’m supposed to be / There’s mad people watching, in the family I’m the option / Wanting Grammy’s and the Oscars and I’m swearin’ I can conquer.” Only a few lines later, he brings it back down and speaks directly to the listener: “But I just wanna make music and influence / I hate expectations they ruin / Every single thing that I think of doing / Could you just leave me please to be human?” Bishop’s catalog is anything but extensive. However, that he is fresh off of the collaborative NehruvianDoom, and has the backing of a legend like Nas speaks to the pressure he is facing and embracing at this early juncture in his career.
While the lyrical talent is apparent, Bishop also deserves props for his production chops. Nehruvia: The Nehruvian EP is entirely self-produced, and displays the multifacetedness of his musical ear. “Breath (Prana $pirit)” is reminiscent of the Madlib flavored West Coast mold. Soundwise, the EP closer “Harmony In A Glass” is a laudable homage to J Dilla. And when he isn’t showcasing the sample-based beats inspired by his predecessors, Bishop has his own moments of originality (“Somebody Waits”). Given his age and respective clout, he’s well on his way towards becoming one of the best rapping producers.
Nehruvia: The Nehruvian EP is a concise collection of music that acts as an hors d’oeuvre while Bishop Nehru puts the finishing touches on his debut LP. The rhymes are up to snuff, and excitingly, so are the beats. In only a short amount of time, Bishop has parlayed his talents into a record deal, and maintains a steadily growing fanbase. The Nehruvian EP will satisfy hungry fans, and Bishop can continue to keep his nose to the grindstone.
Listened to it a few times and still can’t figure out what the likes of Nas & DOOM see in this guy. Maybe it’ll hit me one day down the line, ’til then – Meh.
@HiiiPoWeR you don’t see what Nas and Doom see cause you ain’t them, never will be, like you said, wait awhile, you might get it
Nice! an amazing ep from start to finish.
dope
this shit is just so average imo. not terrible but not anything that stands out. i just dont get it. guy sounds like an average rawkus records reject from early 1998-2000. his voice/flow is not smooth. people say this is “real hip hop” or “this stuff is keeping hiphop alive” but its artists like this that are dime-a-dozen in nyc. most of them are 30+ years old who have the same flow/psuedo-complex lyricism and cant past that era. dont get the appeal
so after writing this stuff above i went and listened to this kid on youtube and while i dont care much for this particular EP, i spoke to soon, i do understand his appeal. it reminds me another era when hiphop was all about city stories of strife/block parties. still dont care for his flow but the content is solid. hiphop needs this shit. its been missing..
dissapointed. I give it about a 3/5 but thats only cause I know Nehru is capable of a better project. I liked the album with MF Doom better and its probably cause when the production was lackluster on this album, it made Nehru sound uninspired. Regardless, hip hop needs more MC’s like him and I’ll still be rockin this joint.
Patrick Swiss make me a coffee
love that album, nothing compared to nehruvia but the beats are dank as always and he is lyricly so much stronger then lots of rappers.
Don’t get the big deal about this kid either. The last album I put up with because Doom was involved but this is just disposable.
most boring rapper alive..internet tryna convince you he dope..some rap saviour..dudes average at most..cant imagine any rap fans sitting thru a project of his..nas shoulda put on cats like Solzilla or Skizzy Mars if he tryna get some youth on Mass Appeal