Nehruvia: My Disregarded Thoughts

Bishop Nehru introduces himself under his real name, Markel Scott, and invites us to enter his Nerhuvian thoughts as though they were pages in a book. The atmosphere is darker and the cover art too, but the first notes immediately refer to the album Elevator Act I and II. MF Doom, a constant since NerhuvianDOOM, is still here on tracks like “Meathead”, with its effective samples and boom-bap. The whole thing is wrapped up with an animated video full of references to hip hop culture, and moreover produced by Madlib. The album talks of loneliness, sleepless nights and a probable love story, while at the same time putting the industry that Bishop Nehru knows he depends on back in its place. From a Russian-opera sample (“Emperor”) to soul guitar coupled with saxophone, Bishop Nehru widens his palette, going from trap ambient to Tom Misch-like tracks, without neglecting to surround himself with hip hop masters such as DJ Premier. This production takes him away from the youthful freshness of his early days and leads him into deeper thoughts and acts, with a well-maintained lyricism and a style all his own, although it still reminds one a bit of Odd Future. Note that this album comes on the heels of a track released in March (“Too Lost”) which also deserves some attention.