| Lafandar | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Heems and Lapgan | ||||
| Released | February 16, 2024 | |||
| Length | 33:33 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Lapgan | |||
| Heems chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Lapgan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Lafandar | ||||
| ||||
Lafandar is the second studio album by American hip hop artist Heems and Indian-American producer Gaurav Napgal,also known as Lapgan. It was released on February 16,2024,through Veena Sounds and Mass Appeal India.
Following a six-year break from music,Lafandar sees a return for the rapper under his newly found label Veena Sounds. [1] The album is a collaboration project with Indian-American producer Lapgan,whose project History previously marked the first release on the label. [2] The producer incorporated various "cinematic South Asian samples" on the record that are set to compliment Heems' trademark "laugh-out-loud wit". [3]
Lafandar features guest appearances by Kool Keith,Open Mike Eagle,Quelle Chris,Your Old Droog,Saul Williams,Blu,Sid Sriram,and Sonnyjim. [4] On January 23,2024,the rapper announced the album alongside the release of the lead single "Accent" featuring Williams. [5] On February 6,the rapper released the second single "Sri Lanka",a collaboration with Your Old Droog that sees them trading "punchlines". [6]
Pranav Trewn at Stereogum awarded Lafandar the accolade "album of the week",saying that the collaboration resulted in Heem's "most focused performance" since his Das Racist days. The rapper is not "sending up the genre" but brings "it back down to earth" and,as a result,delivers "the ideal" record he had been striving for "since 2008". Trewn sees Lafandar as "a landmark in the growing wave of Indo-Western hip-hop" as well as a "quintessential New York rap album". The editor also cites a broad soundscape with songs that "draw from across continents" as a work born from "requisite ambition",praising the production by Lapgan in particular. [7]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Stupid Dumb Illiterate" (with Sid Sriram) |
| 2:18 |
| 2. | "I'm Pretty Cool" |
| 2:22 |
| 3. | "Sri Lanka" (with Your Old Droog) |
| 2:07 |
| 4. | "Accent" (with Saul Williams) |
| 2:29 |
| 5. | "Going for 6" (with Sonnyjim and Abhi the Nomad) |
| 3:16 |
| 6. | "Bab Ganoush" (with Lee Scott and Cool Calm Pete) |
| 3:46 |
| 7. | "Obi Toppin (Darling)" (with Kool Keith) |
| 2:09 |
| 8. | "Kala Tika" |
| 2:41 |
| 9. | "Yellow Chakra" (with Sir Michael Rocks and Open Mike Eagle) |
| 3:02 |
| 10. | "Porches" (with Blu and Quelle Chris) |
| 3:07 |
| 11. | "Bukayo Saka" |
| 2:36 |
| 12. | "Your Momma" (with Fatboi Sharif) |
| 3:40 |
| Total length: | 33:33 | ||
Saul Stacey Williams is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, musician, poet, writer, and actor. He is known for his blend of poetry and alternative hip hop, and for his lead roles in the 1998 independent film Slam and the 2013 jukebox musical Holler If Ya Hear Me.
Himanshu Kumar Suri, better known by his stage name Heems, is an American rapper from Queens, New York City. Suri came to prominence as a member of the alternative hip hop group Das Racist, with whom he released two mixtapes and one album. Suri has also founded independent record labels Greedhead Music and Veena Sounds, and has released three solo albums and two mixtapes. With English musicians Riz MC and Redinho, Suri formed the group Swet Shop Boys in 2014.
Nehru Jackets is the first solo mixtape by American rapper Himanshu. It was released on Himanshu's own Greedhead Music label on January 17, 2012.
Greedhead Music is an independent record label founded by Himanshu Suri of Das Racist that has been defunct since 2015. Initially, Suri founded Greedhead Music as a management and recording company in 2008 to manage Das Racist. Greedhead's first releases were the group's 2010 mixtapes, Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man. Das Racist's first commercially available album, Relax, was also the first commercial release on the Greedhead imprint. Greedhead has since released solo mixtapes by both Kool A.D. and Heems. The label has also released works by Dash Speaks, Weekend Money, Keepaway, Lakutis, Big Baby Gandhi, Le1f, Antwon, and Meyhem Lauren, as well as non-hip-hop acts like singer Safe, Scottish bhangra act Tigerstyle, and comedian Joe Mande.
Alec Reinstein, better known by his stage name Despot, is an American hip hop artist from Queens, New York City. He was signed to rapper El-P's label Definitive Jux in 2004. Despot has been a part of the New York underground rap scene for over a decade. Despot is associated with the Smart Crew collective and was a co-owner of Santos Party House.
Billy Woods is an American rapper based in New York. He is also the founder of the record label Backwoodz Studioz. Woods has been a member of Armand Hammer, Super Chron Flight Brothers, and The Reavers.
Denzel Rae Don Curry is an American rapper. Born and raised in Miami Gardens, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape, King Remembered Underground Tape 1991–1995, in 2011, which was influenced by underground Florida rapper SpaceGhostPurrp. The mixtape was later featured on SpaceGhostPurrp's social media, giving Curry attention in the local music scene and resulting in him joining the former's hip-hop collective Raider Klan.
Dmitry Kutsenko, known by his stage name Your Old Droog, is a Ukrainian-born American rapper and producer from Brooklyn, New York. He first gained public attention in June 2014 when online rumors were circulated that his self-published debut EP was actually recorded by veteran New York rapper Nas under an alter ego, before revealing himself in August of that year as a 25-year-old Ukrainian American. His self-titled debut album was released digitally on November 25, 2014. The name "Droog" comes from the Ukrainian word 'друг' meaning "friend".
Patrick G. Morales, better known by his stage name Wiki, is an American rapper and record producer from New York City, New York. He was a member of New York City-based hip hop group Ratking with rapper-producer Sporting Life and rapper Hak, which he left in 2015. Morales was also a member of Secret Circle with rapper Antwon and rapper-producer Lil Ugly Mane until 2018. He has since released three solo albums; No Mountains in Manhattan (2017), Oofie (2019), and Half God (2021).
Eat Pray Thug is the debut studio album by American hip hop artist Heems. It was released on Megaforce Records on March 10, 2015. Music videos were created for "Sometimes", "Damn, Girl", and "Pop Song (Games)".
Holiday Mountain is an electronic music duo founded in 2011 by Mexican-American songwriter and keyboardist Laura Patiño with drummer and producer Zander Kagle. The two met in Boston while attending Berklee College of Music in 2011. The trio is inspired by music groups like Santigold, Major Lazer, and Die Antwoord. The duo combines edm, hip hop, reggae, dubstep, and Cumbia to create a heavy futuristic dance genre. Patiño's vocal stylings & fashion sense is influenced by Billie Holiday, M.I.A., Amy Winehouse, and Gwen Stefani. The name Holiday Mountain is a combination of Billie Holiday and the Rocky Mountains, two large inspirations for Laura Patiño.
PACKS is the second studio album by American rapper Your Old Droog. It was released on March 10, 2017 through Droog Recordings under exclusive license to Fat Beats Records. The fourteen-track record featured guest appearances by the likes of Detroit-based rapper Danny Brown, actor and comedian Anthony Jeselnik, Wiki from Ratking, Chris Crack, Heems, and Edan.
Destin Choice Route, better known by his stage name JID, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Atlanta, he signed with J. Cole's Dreamville Records, an imprint of Interscope Records in 2017. He formed the musical collective Spillage Village with EarthGang in 2010, and later formed the hip hop group Zoink Gang with Smino, Buddy, and Guapdad 4000. His fluent rapping style and usage of wordplay has been highly acclaimed by several music critics.
Sinai Vessel is the stage name of American indie rock musician Caleb Cordes from North Carolina. The project was originally a trio, but now consists just of Cordes.
Queen Elizabitch is the second studio album by American rapper CupcakKe. It was self-released on March 31, 2017. The album was preceded by its leading single "Cumshot". However, the album's track "CPR", got attention from the video-sharing app, TikTok. The song received over 100 million streams on the music-streaming app Spotify.
The World's Best American Band is the second studio album by American band White Reaper from Kentucky. The album was released through Polyvinyl on April 7, 2017.
Travis Miller, best known professionally as Lil Ugly Mane, is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. Noted for his diverse style, introspective lyrics, and various side projects, Miller's work spans a wide range of genres, including instrumental and experimental hip hop, black metal, lo-fi music, indie rock, and free jazz. He has also produced under the alias Shawn Kemp, and has recorded under the names Bedwetter and Vudmurk.
Disco! is the fifth studio album by American rapper Mike. It was released via 10K on June 21, 2021. It has received generally favorable reviews from critics. It peaked at number 98 on the Billboard Top Current Album Sales chart.
Mach-Hommy is an American rapper and record producer of Haitian descent. He is known for concealing his real name and face in all public appearances, a practice that has led him to be described as "one of hip-hop's most elusive artists".
Veena is the third studio album by American hip hop artist Heems, released on 23 August 2024 on record labels Veena Sounds and Mass Appeal India. It is Heems' second album of 2024, following the February release of Lafandar.