Watch Bishop Nehru's New Video for "Rooftops" (prod by DOOM)
Bishop Nehru is aiming high, and for very good reason. The young emcee with a strong resume is gearing up to release Elevators, a conceptual project that carries production exclusively handled by DOOM and Kaytranada. On paper, this is going to be fantastic. But, music is made on paper and eventually, every tracklist has to show and prove.
Nehru took a big step forward in that regard with his new video for "Rooftops", which premiered yesterday via Complex. The visuals don't disappoint, and the song is horn driven and very jazzy as Bishop tells the story of his life as an artist, where he is, where he's been, and where he wants to be. That's at the heart of Elevators as well. Bishop told Complex that it is feeling-based, and his attempt at something like Pet Sounds, by the Beach Boys.
Peep the video below.
Elevators releases 3/16.
[SXSW Interview] Bishop Nehru Embodies 'The Twenty Year Loop'
Photography by Asia Ashley
For the length of my career covering music, one theory has always stayed planted firmly in the back of my mind. Explained to me in one of my first interviews, with 9th Wonder in 2009, the 'Twenty Year Loop' has shaped much of the way I have consumed and understood music, culture and art since. The idea is somewhat simple, that every two decades, themes, aesthetics and ideas will re-emerge and manifest themselves once again in popular culture. It can explain the current 90s trend we're enjoying, the bell bottom craze of the late 90s and even bridge to presidents No. 41 and 43. I've never been more eager to sit down with an artist to discuss this phenomena than I was last week in Austin as I arrived at The Omni Hotel to talk to 17-year-old NYC phenom Bishop Nehru. The young artist from Rockland County, NY has a distinctly Nas-like flow that is easily recognizable throughout his breakout project, Nehruvia which was released last year. If we're following the Twenty Year Loop to a t, then that would put us in 1994. On April 19 of that year, Nas released a little project by the name of Illmatic, which can be fully felt on every rhyme Nehru spits. In essence, Bishop Nehru is the Twenty Year Loop personified. This is not to say he is a carbon copy of Nasir Jones, far from it. Instead, the point is to draw a map of the way influences work and how they manifest in music today. To be sure, Nehru has set himself up for a productive career in hip-hop, having been tapped by WorldStarHipHop as their 'Rap Act of the Week' in July 2012 at age 15 for an 8-bar freestyle over Mos Def's "Mathematics". Since then he has garnered co-signs from his idol, Nas, opened for Wu Tang Clan on their 20th Anniversary Tour and positioned himself as the true boom-bap artist to be reckoned with. Currently working on his MF Doom-produced project which he calls 'the first project he's been proud off all the way through,' epect to hear Bishop Nehru's name talked about a couple decades from now when influences get brought up. Check out my Q+A with the budding east coast MC.
[SXSW Journal] Day 4
Photo by Kristen Wrzesniewski
The weekend in Austin started off quickly with several interviews on the docket early. My feet, blistered, sore and just generally unhappy about the situation, slipped into a pair of Converse boots with the thought it would help with all the moving. Strapped up and ready to go I headed out to The Blind Pig on 6th Street to talk to The Lonely Biscuits, a four piece jam/hip-hop/indie group from Nashville. The Belmont University students were on the back end of a wild collection of shows throughout SXSW and played a fitting mid-afternoon set after we had a chance to sit down and talk. As soon as I was done there, I raced across town to the Omni Hotel where I was to interview New York City’s rising star, 17-year-old Bishop Nehru. Sans photog for the week, I was able to get the lovely pair of Rasha Mosa and Asia Ashley of The Lab3l to lend a hand for what ended up being one of the more interesting interviews I’ve done in awhile. We discussed the theory of the ‘twenty year loop’, his ties to Nas and what we can expect next, words on that coming soon.
After that it was off to 502 Brushy Street on the other side of the highway to catch Chicago local Taylor Bennett perform at the House of Aura showcase. Technical problems led to him doing a rousing acapella performance before launching into a full set list. A trip to the Rap Genius Ranch ended up just getting me more miles on my ragged feet as we made the trip just a bit too late to catch Nas actually talking about Illmatic. It was at about this point I realized the ridiculousness of this ‘festival’ and how impractical a town Austin really is. There is a ton going on in ATX for SXSW, so much in fact you can find music just about anywhere you go. However, once you walk up to that venue with your Bomberman-looking arm of wristbands, trying desperately to find the one for this particular venue, you’ll likely find there is an extra hierarchy above your ‘credential’ (i.e. it’s a corporate party with people who don’t really even like the music), or you’ll be directed to a mile-long line with a shrug and a ‘good luck’. So, I spent a good amount of time Friday walking to shows like SaveMoney’s set at Clive, only to hear Tumblr only likes folks in badges and decided to pack it in and meet up with some familiar faces at D.B. Riley’s on 6th where Marrow played an absolutely fantastic SXSW debut. Going back to Austin being impractical, keep in mind there is little to no public transportation, the highway system is like a toddler’s SimCity game and they have a train that literally runs like every three hours in a straight line down one street. Sorry guys, you have a way to go before you get true ‘city’ status. Anyway, after Marrow injected happiness into the souls of D.B. Riley’s patrons, I decided it was time to get out of the city and ended up at a mansion party about 20 minutes outside of town where we partied through the night. Looking forward to the last day, ready to get back to Chicago.
Marrow at D.B. Riley's
Taylor Bennett at House of Aura
The Lonely Biscuits at The Big Picture Media Showcase