Three years after the release of her seminal debut album ‘The Almanac’, which was championed by the likes of COLORS, HotNewHipHop, and Ladygunn, among others, multidimensional Baltimore lyricist, songwriter, composer, and producer NERU THEE FOURTH FUGEE is finally ready to go again, as she begins to share details of her long-awaited sophomore album titled ‘Greater Than’, which is set to be released in the summer. To whet the appetite for the highly anticipated project, the Maryland native has unveiled the project’s lead single ‘End Daze’ featuring US rap royalty BbyMutha.
Written, arranged, and composed by Neru Thee Fourth Fugee herself, with additional production from Serbian beatsmith Shotta Beatz, ‘End Daze’ is a hard-hitting collaboration from two female rap powerhouses, which sees both Neru and BbyMutha in incomparable form, as both artists flex their lyrical prowess throughout the track from start to finish. ‘End Daze’ is signature braggadocious rap in its best form, with Neru and BbyMutha addressing any detractors, whether those are old school classmates trying to act familiar, or their rap competitors, or the “bxtches hating” on them.
Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘End Daze’, Neru says, “The song was inspired by MF Doom and Vince Staples, while the title itself is a double entendre on ‘End Days’, referencing a catastrophic end-of-the-world event, and ‘In Daze’ connecting those moments when you find yourself lost inside your thoughts. ‘End Daze’ brings a lot of boastful and confident energy, and that’s how I want my listeners to feel when they hear the single – powerful and confident like they can take on the world. I wrote ‘End Daze’ to continue to create balance with my music, but to also show that I cannot be categorized or boxed in – my music and style transcend genres”.
With a genre-defying sound that fuses hip-hop with neo-soul, ambient, funk and psychedelic music, to create her own musical universe, Neru Thee Fourth Fugee stands out for her abstract lyricism, transcendental harmonies, and trance-like kaleidoscopic soundscapes – her music offers a thought-provoking mind-bending listening experience that allows you to use both hemispheres of your brain simultaneously. Neru Thee Fourth Fugee might remind you of early Parliament Funkadelic music, with sprinkles of the great Ms. Lauryn Hill, but she remains firmly in her own artistic lane.
Neru Thee Fourth Fugee is also the founder of Baltimore creative community, AstroKnot Collective, which she birthed in 2021, and has grown to become a staple in Baltimore’s art scene. With a common goal to elevate, cultivate, reciprocate and be great, Neru currently mentors fifteen different artists across the US, through AstroKnot. Made up of diverse musicians, visual artists, designers, and activists, among others, Neru’s AstroKnot collective curate youth drives, art residencies, music videos, concerts, community events, and more, all over the city of Baltimore.
With two critically acclaimed EPs and a seminal album already under her belt, Neru has also shared the stage with stalwarts like The Roots, Danny Brown, Oddisee, Princess Nokia, and JPEGMafia, just to mention a few, while she counts the likes of Pigeons & Planes, COLORS, Brooklyn Vegan, HotNewHipHop, and Sway’s Universe among some of her supporters. In 2023, she plans to release her sophomore album titled ‘Greater Than’, which is set to feature Wu-Tang’s Killah Priest, Metaphor the Great, and BbyMutha, with whom Neru has unveiled her brand new single, ‘End Daze’. Check it out below…
