Today is the day! BLIP is finally out in the world, and I couldn’t be more excited. Much love to The Expert, Danny and Boaz at Rucksack Records, and everyone else who helped make this album possible and has supported along the way. Stream BLIP below and consider purchasing a vinyl or digital copy via Bandcamp (if you haven’t already).
Keep scrolling to read more and learn a bit about how the album came to be.
NAHreally AND The Expert
On January 1st, 2022, The Expert posted a list of “albums/projects from 2021 that deserve more ears.” At the top of the list was my 2021 release Loose Around The Edges. I thanked him, followed back, and within a few days I’d agreed to jump on a compilation album he had in the works. He sent over a few beats to pick from, and I wrote and recorded a demo in less than two hours—and it was fucking good.
Loose Around The Edges was my first self-produced album, and by the time The Expert had reached out I was nearly done with HACKINAWAY (also self-produced). A NAHreally beat is a simple thing. 90% feel and half taste. Something to rap on. And those albums are outgrowths of that style—loose yet tight, free associative yet specific. What The Expert had sent me was something else completely. His beats are BIG. They beg for meaning and coherence, for a rapper to say something. And in that way, it was an exciting change of pace to take a weightier approach.
I sent the demo back, and The Expert agreed—it was fucking good. He broached the idea of working on more than just one track, and I hit him with a definite maybe. At that moment, I felt like I was in a groove with my self-produced work and didn’t want to lose momentum. Luckily for me (and hopefully you?) that feeling faded once I received a second batch of beats—I just had to work with this dude. And so we started.
Anybody who can hear can tell how talented The Expert is. His beats are intricate but never gratuitous. They’re beautiful and they knock. But what struck me most was his clarity of vision. As I listened through the first dozen or so beats he sent, it was obvious he knew exactly what a NAHreally & The Expert album could sound like—and I found myself agreeing with his assessment.
BLIP took a little over a year and a half to make (Feb 2022 - Sep 2023) and it was a very close collaboration. We set out to think big as I aimed to match The Expert’s production style with an intentionally conceptual approach to writing. The Expert’s role as producer turned out to be as Pete Rock as it was Rick Rubin (also considered: as J Dilla as it was George Martin, as Madlib as it was Quincy Jones). He made the beats and then partnered with me to shape what we had into an album. The process was fun and it was challenging. It pushed my writing in a way it hadn’t been pushed before and proved that there’s always room to reach a little deeper. It also taught me a lot about collaboration. There were moments when The Expert was more confident in my abilities than I was. There were also times when I took a song in a direction The Expert might have hated on paper but loved in practice. What resulted is a true collaborative effort—an album just as much about the ampersand as the names on either side.
And to be honest, I’m nervous for you to hear it. As The Expert’s beats tend to demand, I went big, abandoning some of my precious nonchalance in the process. I’m supremely proud of and confident in what we made, but really doing a Thing can be scary. This time around I think it paid off. I hope you agree.
P.S. That first song we made is not on the album. You’ll hear it one day.
Thanks again for staying tapped in throughout this loooooong album rollout. If you like (or dislike) the album please don’t hesitate to reach out and let me know. Feedback is ALWAYS welcome. A couple final notes:
Tour! I’m going on tour in April, and I laid out all the details in this post. If you’re in the Northeast I would absolutely love to see you at a show along the way.
Press! The Expert and I have been lucky enough to be invited onto some of my absolute favorite hip hop podcasts for interviews. We were also featured on Bandcamp’s Best Hip-Hop of March 2024.
The Next Movement: TNM hosts Rob and E are some of the most thoughtful question askers in the game and have such a knack for creating a warm and welcoming atmosphere in interviews. PLUS, every guest gets to break down an album they love (6 Feet Deep by Gravediggaz in our case).
Dad Bod Rap Pod: DBRP is the hip hop pod I’ve listened to the longest. Over the past 5+ years they’ve chronicled the current indie rap boom with remarkable dedication and humor. While I was drawn to the podcast for their interviews, I’ve stuck around for their banter. Shoutout to Nate LeBlanc, 1/3 of the DBRP crew, for having us on and writing the BLIP liner notes (as well as a bunch of other stuff).
Best Hip-Hop on Bandcamp: Shoutout to Phillip Mlynar for including us in his monthly list. It’s incredible to be featured alongside so many artists I listen to myself (and a few I know personally).
I think that’s it for now. Follow me on social media for more frequent updates. I truly hope you enjoy BLIP. If you do, be sure to tell a friend to tell a friend.
With love and gratitude,
NAHreally