Nappy Nina’s exploration of grief on Mourning Due makes it one of the most personal and reflective moments in her discography so far

Brooklyn, New York emcee Nappy Nina has been sharing her introspections on her life for some time now, with intimate and cohesive albums over the years in The Tree Act, Dumb Doubt and Double Down among others, painting vivid pictures of her state in mind, her vulnerabilities and her dreams while doing it over electronic-influenced production, with soulful grooves that makes her music equally as hard-hitting as it is gentle. Her new album Mourning Due centers around topics of grief over varied production from the likes of Nelson Bandela, Sonnymoon’s dane.zone, and JWords, and is one of her strongest statements to date.

The album’s cohesiveness comes from Nappy Nina’s focus on the mic – she’s as good as she’s every been, exploring her state of mind with freedom, and it’s beautiful to hear her able to speak so freely about topics that are usually difficult to openly discuss. On the opener “Loungie”, she flows effortlessly over the glitchy beat. The features throughout also add depth and new perspectives to the album. lojii’s free-flowing verse on “Whipping” is an early standout, while Moor Mother’s incredibly poignant verse on “Stone Soup” is beautiful and reflective, over a piano-led beat that captures a moody, soulful tone. “Sorrel Sip” is one of the more striking lyrical moments on the album. “My lists of loss are lengthy / look in the mirror lately / can’t make out what I’m facing / features foggy, stillness shaking” she says over a disorienting beat, as if she’s drowning from her own thoughts and grief. “Cope” similarly has a pretty somber tone, with a piano-led beat that sees Nappy Nina talk about how she uses substances to cope with issues in her life, often abusing it to numb that pain. The beat, produced by dane.zone, is one of the warmest and soulful ones on the album, and Nappy Nina’s revealing, personal lyricism is really one of the highlights of the album as a whole. Her ability to just create this safe space to vent out all her frustrations, fears and experiences navigating through life as a Queer Black woman is just so inspiring.

Nappy Nina’s Mourning Due is one of her most concise, cohesive and personal projects to date, a profound body of work that showcases not only her lyrical ability but also her natural storytelling, which perfectly complements the lavish, soulful and cohesive production. Her ability to express what grief is to her and how she deals with it, or at least tries to, is inspiring and a testament to her talents. Go listen to Nappy Nina’s Mourning Due below!