Bishop Nehru along with a few other Rappers of his generation, are finally proving that lyricism is preferable to radio-friendly production. If you’ve heard Bish’s mixtapes in the past, then you’ll probably be a fan, and if you’re someone like me who thought his EP with MF DOOM was a bit lacklustre, then this release is thankfully much better.
Nehruvia: The Nehruvian EP kicks off with a vinyl crackle on the “Intro”, and this throwback sound features throughout the EP giving the whole thing a Golden Era vibe. The first song is “Somebody Waits” which is a nice track, however the repetitive vocal sample should probably have been removed from the verses and only included during the choruses for better effectiveness. This is a tiny criticism however, as the majority of the EP is brimming with hugely enjoyable songs.
“User$” features a mellow, mid-to-late nineties feel with a chilled-out Mmm vocal and the track keeps your head nodding throughout. “MansSin” featuring fellow up-and-coming Rapper Que Hampton (proving that he needs to be signed immediately) then follows. Nehru and Hampton have in the past created great tracks like “Exhale” and on this song they showcase their great flow once more. The two MC’s talent is delightedly coupled with great production, and there’s also a Charles Manson quote serving as the chorus. The next track is “MellowWithMe” which like the title suggests, is another super-laid-back, mellow joint; unfortunately its chorus consisting of some imperfect “singing” becomes an unneeded trend for the mid-portion of the EP.
Because of this switching-up of styles, the only two tracks which I don’t like are “You & I (Place To Find)” (which for some reason isn’t included in the SoundCloud stream) and “[justfriends]ZONE”. The former track features an Isley Brothers’ sample and a hectic chopped melody (and a slightly uninspiring R’N’B chorus) and the latter song is pretty good if it wasn’t for the chorus which consists of this aforementioned bad-singing. The EP then ends with two tracks which have already been released; “Breath (Prana $pirit)” and “Harmony In A Glass” which are both a fantastic mix of solid rhymes and old-school beats.
Bishop Nehru seems to enjoy bringing back that East Coast sound that many of his contemporaries seem to have put aside for a faux-Southern style. It has been reported that Nas will be executive producing Bishop’s upcoming full-length album, so hopefully under his tutelage he can create an “Illmatic” of his own. If this EP is a taster of what’s to come, then real Hip-Hop Heads will be salivating for a full course…
Somebody Waits.
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