Heems has returned with his first solo album in nine years, LAFANDAR. To do so, he's teamed up with producer Lapgan, who is signed to his label and lifestyle brand, Veena Sounds. The 12-song tracklist encompasses collaborations with Open Mike Eagle, Quelle Chris, Your Old Droog, and several more artists.
In a press release, Veena is described: "An ode to the collision of his South Asian heritage and New York roots, Veena is dedicated to and named after his mother, and explores the implementation of self-care through Heems’ passions – fashion, flows, and food. In celebration of its launch, Veena is releasing a product offering encompassing all three of its core tenets — Sounds, Wears and Naturals — including physical editions of both 2010 Das Racist mixtapes Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down Man, which are being made available on vinyl for the first time. Veena is also releasing two tees designed by Himanshu Suri and Peter Chung (Supreme, Polo) and 100% organic cold-pressed virgin coconut oil made in India."
Heems Returns With "LAFANDAR"
Heems also explained how his music relates to the brand in the release. “My world was one of graffiti and golgappas, skateboards and saris, music and Mughals, and so on. This is what my music sounds like," he said. Heems began promoting the new project with the single, “Accent” with Saul Williams, last month. He also dropped the Your Old Droog collaboration, "Sri Lanka," on February 5. Heems was previously a member of Das Racist but currently performs with Riz Ahmed in Swet Shop Boys. His last solo album, Eat Pray Thug, dropped back in 2015. Check out the tracklist for the new album below and be on the lookout for further updates on Heems on HotNewHipHop.
Heems' Full "LAFANDAR" Tracklist
- Heems / Lapgan / Sid Sriram: “Stupid Dumb Illiterate”
- Heems / Lapgan: “I’m Pretty Cool”
- Heems / Lapgan / Your Old Droog: “Sri Lanka”
- Heems / Lapgan / Saul Williams: “Accent”
- Heems / Lapgan / Sonnyjim / Abhi the Nomad: “Going for 6”
- Heems / Lapgan / Lee Scott / Cool Calm Pete: “Bab Ganoush”
- Heems / Lapgan / Kool Keith: “Obi Toppin (Darling)”
- Heems / Lapgan: “Kala Tika”
- Heems / Lapgan / Sir Michael Rocks / Open Mike Eagle: “Yellow Chakra”
- Heems / Lapgan / Blu / Quelle Chris: “Porches”
- Heems / Lapgan: “Bukayo Saka”
- Heems / Lapgan / Fatboi Sharif: “Yo Momma”
[Via]