This is the self-produced 4th studio LP from New York emcee/producer Bishop Nehru. Starting out dropping a couple beat tapes before emerging in the underground off the solid debut mixtape Nehruvia, he profile would only begin to increase in 2014 by signing to Mass Appeal Records & form the duo NehruvianDOOM alongside the late MF DOOM & putting out an overlooked self-titled effort together that same fall. Bishy would leave Mass Appeal a couple years later to drop 2 full-lengths Elevators & My Disregarded Thoughts on his own, both of which I look at as some of the best shit he’s ever done. He would also drop 7 EPs & 5 more mixtapes, the most recent of the 2 being Kult Life: From Pain to Paintings. He found Solace in Shadows in November & has returned 4 months later with Now or Never.
The synth-driven trap instrumental on “Back Around” caught me off guard at first although I quickly came appreciate the subject matter of him still having his piece of mind & warning to stay if you go against the grain whereas “Cash Rules” significantly experiments with sample drill chopping up “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” by the almighty Wu-Tang Clan talking about everyone else mad at him getting in his bag.
“Chocolate Pain” flips the viral Tay Zonday hit “Chocolate Rain” laughing at those who thought he’d fall off while “Couldn’t Get By” samples “Wouldn’t Get Far” by The Game featuring & produced by Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West to talk about trying to get what’s his. “Face Down” offers more of a quirky trap vibe promising you’ll be ignored if you keep fucking with him just before “Figured It Out” hooks up some 808s talking about finding peace.
Moving on from there, “Front!” brings the sample drill influences back sampling the iconic Pharrell single “Frontin’” featuring JAY-Z so he can keep it blood with a chick who wants to front on him leading into “Glory” talking about trying to become highly renown. “Henny Black” feels more rage-inducing discussing his life being what he imagined it being & “How Many?” was a great Valentine’s Day theme trap single.
“Nothing to Lose” switches it up with what I consider to be a little bit of a summertime ode with it’s sample heavy sound sticking to the script while “OOTC” focuses on trying to make more paper & get his mind right simultaneously. “Stuck in the Dark” closes Now or Never with a cloudy trap beat talking about everyone not imagining that he would take it as far as he has & him continuing to raise the bar through versatility.
Bishy Chulo has always stood out for his range & if you think you’re gonna get the same boom bap production that was primarily on Solace in Shadows, you might be disappointed. He gives sample drill a shot giving respect to songs I grew up listening to since we’re the same age, prominently keeping it in trap territory with hints of both cloud rap & rage to significantly lesser extents.
Score: 8/10