NEMS – “Gorilla Monsoon” (Album Review)

NEMS is an MC from Brooklyn, New York who first gained attention in the battle rap field. He made his debut in 2010 with Prezident’s Day & followed it up in 2012 with a features compilation Coney Soprano but now after years of mixtapes, he’s coming back with his 2nd album.

The album kicks off “Step Aside”, where NEMS is spitting battle bars over a sinister boom bap beat from JAZZSOON (who happens to be the sole producer of the project). The next song “Where You Know Me From?” with Conway details the gritty street life over a nightmarish instrumental while the track “Timb Boots” gets into fight mode over a funky beat. The song “Gahbage” is a ruthless diss towards wack rappers who shove their music down everyone’s throats while the track “Kings” is a dedication to how good NEMS is living over a soulful beat.

The song “Lil Niggas” gets back on the battle bar tip over a grimy boom bap beat while the track “Who Got Ya?” brags about his prowess over a piano driven boom bap beat. After the “Intermission”, the song “200” with Spit Gemz sees the 2 body of their competition over a beat that sounds inspired by a horror film. The track “Heavy Metal” reflects on his past over some prominent drums while the song “Leave Me Alone” gets motivational over a punchy beat. The penultimate track “No Reggaeton” with Al Doe & Axel Leon is an intriguing Puerto Rican flavored cut & then the album ends with “Token of My Gratitude”, which is essentially a beautiful 3 & a half minute song combined with a 13 minute spoken word outro.

Personally, this is easily NEMS’ magnum opus. There are a couple tracks I could’ve done without but for the most part: JAZZSOON’s beats are hardcore, the rhymes are deadly & it really seems like he put his heart into it.

Score: 8/10