Nappy Nina is an emcee originally from Oakland, but now based in Brooklyn. She’s been releasing music since the mid-2010s, with her last album, Double Down, coming in 2021. Now, after releasing a few singles in in 2022, Nina comes back with her latest album, Mourning Due.

To make this album, Nappy Nina worked with dane.zone, JWords, Unjust, Nelson Bandela, Maurice ii, and Nathan Bajar to produce the tracks, as well as adding a little production of her own. The resulting sound coming from all of these collaborators is one that wavers between this laid back Dilla-esque style, and some more Dam-Funk-esque electro-boogie. It’s a combination that manages to sound cool and warm at the same time, with beats that will have you nodding your head and feeling the groove without overwhelming you, but always with this soulful, inviting sound that will hook you. It also sounds fantastic late at night, it just has that vibe to it. On the mic, Nappy Nina is also playing it cool, never really raising the volume of her voice or going big with a hook or anything like that. That said, Nina is delivering these rhymes with such a quiet confidence and giving you such personal lyricism delving into issues of loss and life and grieving, that you will find yourself leaning in and connecting with her words more an more with each track. You’re getting to know Nina on a deeper level, but you’re also being presented with a lot of interesting food for thought that will have you mulling over the losses you’ve dealt with in your own life. On top of all this, Nina invites a few guests along for the journey, including Iojii, Cavalier, Moor Mother, JusMoni, OHMi, maassai, Stas Thee Boss, and Nathan Bajar, who all do a perfect job of adding their own unique flavor and perspective while understanding what the bigger picture of the project is, making each contribution easily fit alongside what Nina is laying down and elevating the album as a whole.

Mourning Due is definitely a moment where Nappy Nina leveled up. Sometimes this happens when artists drop “big” projects, but sometimes, such as in Nina’s case, it can happen when an artist matures to the point of self-confidence and openness that a subtle and emotional project like Mourning Due can really coalesce into something special.