Bishop Nehru remixes the Grammy nominated Little Dragon’s “Pretty Girls.”

Following our reveal of the best major label hip-hop albums of 2014 earlier in the week, we now present our favorite indie LP’s of the year. As per usual, it was hard to find 10 inclusions for the major label list, and hard to narrow it down to only 10 on the indie list.

10. Step Brothers (Evidence + Alchemist) – Lord Steppington – Rhymesayers - Lord Steppington is unlike anything either Al or Ev have done thus far, which is testament to their versatility. It doesn’t sound like a Dilated album without Rakka, nor does it sound like, say, Albert Einstein from a production standpoint. Evidence and Alchemist have challenged themselves here, and ended up producing a dope, unconventional underground rap album, most likely dreamed up in the smokiest of atmospheres. Here come the lords.

9. Bishop Nehru + MF Doom – NehruvianDOOM – Lex Records – MF Doom teamed up with rising star Bishop Nehru for NehruvianDOOM, a solid collaborative album that found him laying down tracks for the young emcee. While some complained about re-used beats, we didn’t mind, as we don’t really listen to Doom’s beat tapes anyway. Sewn together brilliantly with Doom’s off kilter samples from various different sources, it’s rare we find Doom producing a whole album for someone, which made this a real treat.

8. Your Old Droog – Your Old Droog LP – Droog Recordings – It started off as some kid on Reddit proposing the idea that Droog was actually Nas in disguise, leading to a whole bunch of people accidentally checking for the Coney Island, NY rapper. What we found was an incredibly solid LP from a budding emcee with an airtight flow and classic, sample based production. Released on “Droog Recordings” this is the definition of an indie success story.

7. Apathy – Connecticut Casual – Demigodz Recordings – Connecticut Casual is a concept album, but isn’t as heavy as say, The Roots …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin, for example. It’s a pretty straight-shooting, classically styled hip-hop record, but Ap ties the entire thing together by using his home state as a backdrop. Using the New England area’s rich history as a blueprint, he examines the state’s dichotomy of its Yacht-owning upper class, and it’s seedier crime ridden underbelly. Another well put together album, with very interesting, unexplored territory in hip-hop music.

6. Ras Kass + Apollo Brown – Blasphemy – MelloMusicGroup - Ras Kass and Apollo Brown’s, Blasphemy, is a concept LP that is more or less a crusade against organized religion. It’s also one of the best albums of the year, and quite possibly the most concise album that Ras has ever recorded. Ras has finally been given an equally yoked producer to match his sharp lyrical prowess.

5. Ghostface Killah – 36 Seasons – Tommy Boy – Where the Wu failed with A Better Tomorrow, Ghostface delivered with a literal “better tomorrow” releasing his excellent 36 Seasons LP just a week later. An incredibly tight-knit concept album with fresh, original live production from The Revelations, Ghostface Killah has long proven to be the Wu-Tang Clan’s most consistant member.

4. DJ Premier + Royce Da 5’9 – PRhyme – PRhyme Records – American dream team of DJ Premier and Royce Da 5’9 reunited after the success of their classic single “Boom,” for Preem’s first group project since the dissolution of Gang Starr. While the album showed both artists doing what they do best, we’d love to see how they mature as a group with consecutive albums as time goes on.

3. Statik Selektah – What Goes Around – Showoff - While not as high-profile as some of the other releases on this list, Statik Selektah’s What Goes Around was easily one of the most consistent LPs of 2014, especially considering its length. Stat has matured into one of the best producers in the game, able to zero in on that “golden age” sound, with an extensive guest list to help drive it home.

Pharoahe Monch – PTSD – W.A.R. Media – In his most focused and consistent LP since Internal Affairs, Pharaohe Monch has taken a real-life bout with depression and turned into one of the strongest independent LP of the year. He doesn’t try to recapture the success of “Simon Says”, nor does he try to crossover with Cee-Lo-esque gospel/soul tracks, despite his obvious singing chops. This is an unapologetically dark, incredibly well-written, musically sound LP that finds the emcee returning to greatness. Pharoahe Fucking Monch, ain’t a damn thing changed.

1. Run The Jewels (Killer Mike + El-P) – RTJ2 – Productomart / Mass Appeal – RTJ2 is a worthy sequel to the original that gets consecutively better with each listen, topping many of the industry’s year end lists across all music genres. It’s so far removed from what major labels have been pushing on us for the last few years, yet it sons them all with a smart, progressive, politically minded, and musically dope album that challenges the status quo, and reminds us why we still love hip-hop after all these years. It is possible that this album could mark a turning point for hip-hop music, so bump this shit like they do in the future.

New post-Doom music from Mr. Bishop Nehru, produced by the kid himself.

Zev Luv X entered the rap game at 17 years old, as 1/3 of a group called Kausing Much Damage, or KMD for short. They’d later change the letters to stand for “a positive Kause in a Much Damaged society,” as “positivity” and dropping knowledge was kind of an “in” thing in hip-hop at the time, believe it or not. That wasn’t the only name change, as Zev would go on to become MF Doom when he later resurfaced as a mysterious masked solo artist.

Given how history has played out, its not too surprising that Doom has taken a new 17 year old under his wing, Bishop Nehru, as perhaps he sees a bit of himself in the young emcee. Teaming for NehruvianDOOM, a fateful collaboration album that found Doom linking up with the kid after hearing a few freestyles over some of his Special Herbs instrumentals.

Whether those instrumentals were used here matters not to this critic, as I stopped listening to the beat tape series years ago, as Doom made it a practice to ship those same beats off to other rappers, or just simply use them again for his own rhymes. Listening to those instrumental albums recreationally was like downloading unfinished leaks or peeking at your birthday presents before you opened them.

Bishop is not as entertaining to listen to as DOOM is, but then again neither was Zev Luv X at that age. The comparison is inevitable, as Bishop indirectly pays homage to “Peachfuzz” on the love rap “Mean The Most,” weather he realizes it or not. His youthful expression comes through on “So Alone” and “Great Things,” opposite sides of the same coin that find him looking towards the future.

All of this is animated by the scarily consistent production from DOOM, whose presence is felt even if he only appears on a few tracks (“Om”, “Caskets”). In the usual style, the album is sewn together with a series of unrelated yet topical TV and film samples, giving it a cohesive feel in its brief nine songs.

NehruvianDOOM is not mind blowing, but its still very solid. Sure, fans would rather see Ghostface or Madlib collaborating with DOOM instead, but Bishop has potential for greatness at his young age. After all, we never would have expected the career of Zev Luv X to take the path that it did.

NeruvianDOOM has been pushed back to October 7th. Sounds like it will be worth the wait.

In anticipation for his upcoming EP with MF Doom, NehruvianDOOM, Bishop Nehru sits in with E-Bro and Peter Rosenberg to speak on his career thus far.

Cult rap super villain MF Doom will team with buzzworthy 17 year old Rockland County, NY emcee, Bishop Nehru, for the NehruvianDOOM project. The project drops September 22nd on Lex Records, who also handled the last couple of projects for DOOM, such as Born Like This and the JJ Doom album. Here’s everything we know about it:

1. Despite The Two Artists’ Age Gap, The Duo Have Excellent Chemistry Together: It’s clear that Doom sees a bit of himself in Bishop Nehru, as he himself entered the game as KMD’s Zev Love X, at the peachfuzz bearing age of 17. Despite Doom’s age of 43, he recognizes Nehru’s authenticity. “He an old soul. He built for this. I can tell by his level of talent, his level of focus. MC’s are born. You can’t make an emcee out of someone that wasn’t born to do this,” Doom said in the Beyond The Mask mini-documentary about the album. Bishop, who was already a fan of Doom, feels the same. “The person who is mentoring you is someone you’ve been listening to for years and someone you’re a fan of… I’m a huge fan of Doom, and when I met him, it was just an instant vibe,” he said.

2. DOOM Is The Producer, Bishop Nehru Is The MC: As Bishop explained in an interview with The Village Voice, he is the primary emcee of the group, but Doom chimes in from time-to-time, as well. “Well it’s titled NehruvianDOOM. It’s DOOM producing the beats and I’m rapping over them, though he’s going to be on some of the songs too. We don’t have any outside features, it’s just me and him,” said Nehru.

3. The Cover Art Was Illustrated By “Adventure Time” Creator, GHOSTSHIMP. – And it just might be the best looking rap album cover of the year. See above.

4. It Started Off As A 7 Song EP, Then Turned Into A 9-Song Album: The tracklist is as follows.

1. Intro
2. Om
3. Mean The Most
4. So Alone
5. Coming For You
6. Darkness (HBU)
7. Caskets
8. Great Things
9. Disastrous

5. The Project Came About After Bishop Rapped Over Some Doom Beats On His Nehruvia Mixtape. Bishop was opening for Doom and Ghostface in London, and was suddenly approached by the Metal Faced rapper. “Doom comes walking up the steps, all nonchalant, like he’s not DOOM,” Bishop told DJ Vlad earlier this year. “He was just like, ‘Yo, dope music man. I appreciate the love and support, you wrecked those beats.’ I guess he heard the tracks I recorded for my first project, Nehruvia. I used a beat of his on there, two of them (“Elder Blossoms” & “Lemon Grass”). I guess he heard them and was like ‘Yo man, dope. I appreciate it. Tell your people to hit up my people.’”

Check out those tracks that led to the creation of this project below.

6. Aside from “Darkness”, It’s All Original Production: DOOM has often been criticized for using previously released beats from his Special Herbs instrumental album series for his vocal projects. While the first single revealed from the project, “Darkness”, uses a beat from the series, the rest is reportedly all previously unheard beats from MF. Check both “Darkness” and “OM” below. “OM” also features an appearance from Doom on the hook.

Watch for Bishop Nehru and MF Doom’s NehruvianDOOM, September 22nd on Lex Records.

We finally have a cover, tracklist, release date (Sept 22nd) and new single for NehruvianDOOM for Lex Records. Pre-Orders are up now.

1. Intro
2. Om
3. Mean The Most
4. So Alone
5. Coming For You
6. Darkness (HBU)
7. Caskets
8. Great Things
9. Disastrous

First single off of NehruvianDOOM (MF DOOM & BISHOP NEHRU), coming soon on Lex Records. “Roland’s calling on the people… & The Emperor, just watch it all unfold.” Directed by: Markel Scott / @BishopNehru.

Soul-baring honesty, upliftment, and introspective thoughts of isolation are at the forefront in LRG Clothing’s 3-song EP featuring Dizzy Wright and Bishop Nehru entitled BrILLiant Youth. Featuring full production from Grammy Award-winning producer 9th Wonder, Las Vegas rapper Dizzy Wright and 17-year old New York rapper Bishop Nehru teamed up, creating the perfect trifecta to put their honesty and sentimental on display through an artistic storytelling approach.

Kicking off the EP with the opening verse on “Wreckin’ Crew,” Dizzy spits self assuring lines, “I’m not him, I’m not last, I’m not first,” asserting himself as young but serious emcee in the industry, with his own approach and identity. In the second track entitled “Isolation,” Bishop Nehru brings forth his own approach to the EP by rapping about embracing solitude. The third and final track on the EP ends with both Nehru and Dizzy coming together for the title track “BrILLiant Youth” where Dizzy repeats in the chorus, ” Tell them the youth need it/ Oh they want they want the truth/ I’m here for two reasons/ What’s that?/ Money and respect.”

Known for effortlessly switching gears, this EP comes on the heels of two solo party anthems he just released including, “Spark Up The Flame,” which he released yesterday and LRG-sponsored video “Reunite For the Night,” which was the second official single from highly acclaimed recently released State of Mind EP. Always staying busy, Dizzy’s year has been filled with the release of two EP’s, several loosies, a handful of videos, brand affiliations with CIVIL Clothing, LRG Clothing, and Scion, and more. Catch him on his State of Mind Tour, which kicks off next week.

LRG brings Dizzy Wright & Bishop Nehru in the studio for a 3 track EP featuring production by LRG brand ambassador 9th Wonder. These rare Las Vegas recording sessions produced the brILLiant youth EP dropping Thursday June 5th 2014.

Bishop Nehru has remixed Iggy Azalea’s mega-smash, “Fancy”.

So I remixed @IGGYAZALEA & @charli_xcx's "Fancy". Uploading now..

— EMPEROR NEHRU (@BishopNehru) May 31, 2014

Go behind the scenes of MF Doom and Bishop Nehru’s upcoming project, NehruvianDOOM. XXL spoke with the mysterious rapper overseas in London, England, to discuss the new project, being a mentor to Bishop and what we can expect from the release.

MF Doom and Bishop Nehru will collaborate on the upcoming collaborative album, NehruvianDOOM, to be released on Lex Records later this year. Here is a preview of the album artwork, by GHOSTSHIMP who created the world of Adventure Time. No word on release date yet, but the latest word is that the project has gone from EP to full length LP.

Rising young talent Bishop Nehru spoke to Vlad TV about his first meeting with MF Doom, and what it was like to work in the studio with him. He later tweeted that their project together, NEHRUVIANDOOM has grown from an EP to a full-length release.

Hey Nehruvians NEHRUVIANDOOM is no longer an EP and it's officially going to be an Album. K bye.

— Emperor Nehru (@BishopNehru) April 4, 2014