Nu. God | ‘Take What You Want’ Album, Indie Rap Bliss
It’s been 2 years since Nu. God dropped his last EP, ‘Take What You Need‘. In 2018, we were given the chance to sit down with the Philly rapper who takes every single aspect of his art into account. His last EP was so carefully cultivated in his branding. Its aura was simply about taking what you needed to reach enlightenment. Whether it was stress, anger, or depression that will get you there. Nu. God’s bars laid out the mantra that nobody is perfect and everybody has their vices on their way to the top. Hence, his follow up debut album ‘Take What You Want‘ was born.
Before we even jump into the music, let’s talk about the branding. His cover art and whole brand play off so beautifully from the last project. From the title ‘Take What You Need’, being about self-improvement, ‘Take What You Want’ is geared in reverse. It challenges our vice’s. It’s completely genius in this regard. The cover art is literally a vending machine that sells you wickedness. His whole premise is to stimulate awareness in the demonic pleasures that will harm your self-improvement.
Introducing the project with ‘Back To Work’, he allows the slow scene to set in. Then he unleashes the lyrical slaughter. Nu. God comes in to verbally assault the beat and those who equate material items with success. He spits this message so clearly it’s right there for you to grasp it. That pure ambiance transitions into ‘Back To Philly‘, where he serves you up bars on a silver platter. He comes in hard with a verse that slaps the beat like bad parenting. It’s almost disrespectful to other rappers the way he came on this. Nu. God isn’t interesting in making friends, only hits.
“You chasing masters, I chase what matters”
On ‘Sad & Solo’, he pulls in the beautiful Shiloh Dynasty sample that will rip deep into your soul. Once that Nu. God vocal glazes the beat canvas, the rest is history. This is the record that will give you chills. It’s so real and puts into perspective the trials that an independent rapper goes through. He’s got a pure message layered in the mesh, and it’s one that every rapper struggles with. That is, managing your time between chasing your dreams and the people that are important to you.
He wraps up the album with ‘Lie To Me’, which starts with an outro from Jim Carrey winning a Golden Globe talking about fulfillment. A sentimental message from the Nu. God playbook forcing you to look below the superficial surface. His lyrical content on this snaps you into the reality of problems that real people go through on the daily. There’s enough lessons in these 8 bars to soak your brain for weeks. For this reason, you should play this front to back, and then play it front to back again, because these messages need to stick. He’s one of the few talented lyricists who can deliver a message everyone needs to hear and wrap it up into a musical delectable.
Stream ‘Take What You Want’ below: