The Witzard

"When Dev [Hynes] was 'Lightspeed Champion' , he had a little-known rap MySpace called 'Ni**a Bullshit' (2010). This was when we first started talking about a collaboration," rapper Himanshu Suri (professionally known as Heems ) recently revealed to Rolling Stone concerning his latest collaboration with singer-songwriter/producer, Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange . "I wrote some of the lyrics in college at Wesleyan , some before Das Racist in Bushwick , and most of it in my engineer Daniel Lynas' old studio with Dev [Hynes] in Dumbo ," Heems continued. "Home" was adequately described by one anonymous writer as " Dev provides fluttering guitar-work while Heems opens his chest cavity, removes his still-aching heart, [and] drops it on the floor in front of you;" the subject matter throughout Heems' forthcoming major label "debut" EAT PRAY THUG has been self-described as "much more personal than [ Hima...

EAT PRAY THUG , or "9/11 & Heartbreak," as he affectionately refers to it, is the by-product of Queens -based rapper Himanshu K. Suri (aka Heems )' self-imposed exile to Bombay, India a few years back. Although it's actually Suri's major label debut, EAT PRAY THUG is likely poised to be his first and last album, as @HIMANSHU has recently alluded that he's considering giving up his rap career and more or less defunct Greedhead imprint for a 9-5. Since unleashing a series of critically-acclaimed 2012 mixtapes, Nehru Jackets and Wild Water Kingdom , Suri has maintained a relatively low profile; until unexpectedly dropping his 4-track SWET SHOP EP with buddy Riz "MC" Ahmed and a particularly zonked out theme song recorded for Japanese Vitamin Water last year. "'Sometimes" is about dualities, identity, and the space between spaces, Like so many other people, as first generation South Asian in the U.S. I often felt like I li...

Das Racist were hands down, one of the greatest post-2000 New York area Hip-Hop groups, who essentially created their own "outsider rap" scene, which would later harbor up-and-coming guys like Lakutis , LE1F, Mr. Muthaf*ckin' eXquire , Antwon, Kassa Overall , KechPhrase, Big Baby Gandhi , etc. Luckily enough, I had a chance to see Das Racist on their then unannounced 2012 "farewell tour" in Philly , a show which additionally featured a mini- Greehead label showcase: Lakutis , LE1F, and Weekend Money as opening acts. Since disbanding, founding members Himanshu "Heems" Suri and Victor "Kool A.D." Vazquez have each released a number of critically-acclaimed solo mixtapes; well, Heems actually uploaded two mixtapes, Nehru Jackets and Wild Water Kingdom , while Das Racist were still actively together. Suri then moved to Bombay, India between 2012-mid-2014 as part of a self-imposed exile, wherein he began recording material for his ...

"I think [we're] probably the world's only Indo-Pak rap group - peace process never sounded so rowdy," @SwetShopBoys triumphantly Tweeted on the eve of their premier single release, "Benny Lava." It's former Das Racist member Himanshu Suri (Heems) new 2-man group with Pakistan by way of London rapper, Riz MC ; Heems on the other hand, is a successful New York -based rapper and entrepreneur of Indian descent. Swet Shop Boys decided to rhyme over a recycled 2011 Ryan Hemsworth beat, which takes it's name from a mondegreen, Internet video re-interpretation, that's aptly titled "Benny Lava." It's all firmly anchored by Heems' neck-snapping first four bars: "Yo, Himanshu with the pen, I'm killing it / The white man the villain, them deny them penicillin / Syphilis experiments, death to the Tuskegee men / Somewhere in New York they say death to the squeegee men." The companion Prashant Bhargava & Tanu...