Deniro Farrar Tends To His Flock

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Claims of "so underrated!" may be the stock and trade of YouTube comment sections, but when you see them under music videos from Charlotte rapper Deniro Farrar, it's hard to write the sentiment off as the usual internet histrionics. As much notoriety and recognition as his voluminous output has afforded him over the past decade-plus, there persists among many who've even tangentially followed his career the distinct feeling that it could've been — and deserved to be — even more.

But if there's any trace of bitterness about the game or what he's seen along the way, it's nearly undetectable on The Shepherd, a contented and clear-eyed loosie of an EP ("this ain't nothin' but exercise," he says on the opening song) that, as its name suggests, concerns itself less with those who aren't along for the ride than those who are — and a leader's responsibility to them.

Considering who that leader is, it's not the The Shepherd's philosophical undertones (and overtones) that are noteworthy as much as it is the way they're delivered: an affect so effortless and almost conversational (only heightened by Marc Spano's ambling production), one could imagine a live performance of the project being done entirely from the seat of an armchair. In fact, it's hard after breezing through the EP's roughly 19-minute runtime to remember Farrar raising his voice for a single moment, let alone for a whole song.