Few artists have released as many consistently great albums as MF Doom. Partner him up with one of the most gifted rappers of the new generation, and this could have been a classic in the making.
Sadly, it isn’t. NehruvianDoom is a very good album, but never quite lives up to the promise. The biggest problem is Metal Fingers himself, or more specifically, the lack of him. He’s absent on all but four tracks, and Om only has him doing the hook. To be told we are getting a new project by one of the most skillful artists of all time, to then find he’s not on every track is frustrating, especially when the album has been packaged with the same mashed-up naming convention as MF’s other great collaborations (GhostDoom, DangerDoom, JJ Doom, Madvillian).
When he does feature though, he’s on point as ever, effortlessly dropping gems like “A game winning strategy/support your favorite charity/playing with polarity could drain a whole battery”. He also produces every beat, and there’s little to fault here either. He can even still just about get away with having long skits.
As for Bishop Nehru, it’s the perfect showcase for a talented emcee that seems to grow in confidence and skill each outing. There’s no denying the kid has a bright future, although his lyrics can start to wear thin over the course of a full album, even one as short as this (NehruvianDoom is just 10 songs deep, weighing in at a slender 36 minutes).
It’s by far the best thing Nehru has achieved in his short career, and will help keep him at least a tiny bit rooted to the underground scene when the inevitable major league debut comes.
For MF Doom, its falls some distance from the quality we got with Madvillian, Viktor Vaughn and other Dumile classics, but still a better album than most other artists are capable of. As an elder statesmen of the game, it’s refreshing to see Doom passing the baton to the young Nehru. Fingers crossed he doesn’t go and drop it.
NehruvianDoom is out now, on Lex Records.
