Markel Scott was labeled a “hip-hop prodigy” at age 16. Eleven years later, hardly anyone speaks of him. Why is that?
Kendrick Lamar saw him as the future of hip hop, MF DOOM was his mentor and Nas signed him to his label Mass Appeal. The rapper Bishop Nehru a great future was predicted early in his career – by fellow rappers, critics and fans alike.
The Rapid Rise of Bishop Nehru
Markel Scott, as the New Yorker’s real name is, already attracted attention in 2012 at the tender age of 16. He took a freestyle to the instrumental by Mos Defs “Mathematics” on what the platform him for “WorldStar Hip Hop” named Youth Rap Talent of the Week. He later released the track under the name “Languages” – including a specially shot music video.
The following hype about Bishop Nehru did not go unnoticed by the New York rappers from the Wu-Tang Clan. The “CREAM” makers finally took the young talent along as a support act on their “20th Anniversary Tour” in 2013. At least when Kendrick Lamar told him during a joint Interviews with Fuse was a shoutout that same year, the hip-hop world agreed: This young rapper and producer was going to make it big.
Bishop Nehru and MF DOOM
His first mixtape NEHRUVIA, which he recorded in 2012 and released in 2013, contains beats from hip-hop heavyweights such as DJ Premier, J Dilla, Madlib and the aforementioned MF DOOM. The latter took the newcomer under his wing. “Metal Face” not only advised Scott musically, the “supervillain” also became a father figure to the rising star. This phase is well documented on Nehru’s Instagram channel.
Finally, in August 2013, the duo announced the joint album NEHRUVIANDOOM. Release date was October 7th, 2014. MF DOOM took a backseat on the record. Although he produced all nine tracks, his rap parts are scarce. Almost without exception, Bishop Nehru took on this task – but unfortunately only mediocrely. His bars are mixed, his flow partly imprecise. The duo was able to provide a small highlight with the track “Om”, which can be found right after the intro.
Daniel Dumile, as MF DOOM is called in real life, delivered the usual crazy beats, but his rare rap contributions sometimes give the impression that he didn’t have the greatest interest in the project. The end product is a 31-minute album that’s by no means bad, let alone unlistenable, but doesn’t live up to its potential.
High expectations and untapped potential
A conclusion that can also be applied to the rest of Bishop Nehru’s discography. A few examples: His self-produced follow-up EP NEHRUVIA: THE NEHRUVIAN (2015) has its good moments, even its very good ones. Occasionally, Scott let his great lyrical talent flare up. In addition, the album already indicated that the high expectations of the “chosen one”, as some were talking about him at the time, were giving him problems. on the track “User$” he raps, “I hate expectations, they ruin everything I want to create. Could you please just let me be human? I don’t give a damn what you expect or think is correct.” With lines like this, you actually think you’re looking at an exceptionally talented young rapper. In the end, the spark doesn’t want to jump over completely.
With his next EP MAGIC:19 (2016), Bishop Nehru said goodbye to his characteristic New York boom-bap sound. Again, the now 19-year-old made all the beats himself, these are characterized by chaotic synths and trap drums. Scott’s Flows have evolved since the previous release, but are still not at the prodigy level. The lyrics often deal with the pressure of expectations, artistic freedom and mental health.
EMPEROR NEHRUS NEW GROOVE (2017), on the other hand, is a total failure. Run-of-the-mill beats and boring lines about him being the GOAT Greatest Of All Time be prevail here.
Then in 2018 a ray of light: NEHRUVIA: ELEVATORS: ACT 1 & 2, produced by KAYTRANADA and MF DOOM. Finally the flows are in place, the lyrics are characterized by interesting rhyme structures. Especially the first half of the record, whose instrumentals come from KAYTRANADA, is convincing. After the release, critics and fans hoped that it would finally go in the direction that Bishop Nehru was once prophesied. In fact, ELEVATORS was what the stock market calls a “bull trap”: the brief bounce in price just before it plummets.
Bishop Nehru’s career on the wrong track
Bishop Nehru’s career has taken a worrying path since the release of NEHRUVIA: ELEVATORS ACT 1 & 2. He continues to release singles, EPs and albums, though none of the projects really deserve a mention. He kept posting questionable, cryptic tweets. Like this one, in which he generally accuses women of constantly manipulating men.
In another tweet, Nehru described how he experienced an “unexpected blessing” from meditating with a rose quartz over his heart before bed and then placing it under his pillow.
The hype surrounding the rapper, whom some fellow journalists dubbed the “LeBron James of hip-hop” back in 2014, seemed to be slowly flattening out.
To counteract this, Scott decided on a daring promo move in 2022. For the music video for the track “Heroin Addiction,” the rapper filmed himself allegedly using the eponymous drug. The video description on YouTube states that the recordings were made “for artistic purposes”. “We […] do not condone or encourage the use of hard drugs, but support and speak for all those affected who may not have a voice of their own,” Markel Scott wrote.
Even if the video is fake and he really wanted to make his listeners aware of drug addiction and its consequences, this approach to such a sensitive topic is dubious at best. The collective opinion on the matter leaned much more in the direction of disrespectful, distasteful and immature. Whoever listens to the HEROIN ADDICTION album will inevitably ask themselves the question: “All the theater for this record?” The most exciting thing about the work is probably the horrific cover art.
What does the story of Bishop Nehru teach us?
Bishop Nehru has enormous talent, there can be no two opinions about that. But how is a young man supposed to deal with the pressure that weighed on him even before he actually started his career? At the age of 19, he was forced to repeatedly speak on tracks and in interviews about how little he cared about the expectations of the hip-hop world.
Today it can be stated that the media hype naturally left its mark on him. Ultimately, Bishop Nehru’s career is an example of how uncritical praise can destroy a career. He’s certainly not the “LeBron James of hip-hop,” but he never would have been if the various media hadn’t dubbed him that. It is therefore important for the future to have realistic expectations of young artists without giving them a specific path at the beginning of their career.