Nafis, known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Big Baby Gandhi, is a Bangladesh-born American rapper from

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. His first mixtape, ''Big Fucking Baby'', was released in 2011 to highly positive reception from music critics. As a result of the attention he got from his first mixtape, Gandhi was signed to Greedhead Music, on which he released his second mixtape, ''No1 2 Look Up 2'', in 2012. Artists featured on ''No1 2 Look Up 2'' include

Das Racist Das Racist was an American alternative hip hop group based in Brooklyn, composed of MCs Heems and Kool A.D. and hype man Ashok Kondabolu (a.k.a. Dapwell or Dap). Known for their use of humor, academic references, foreign allusions, and unconv ...

(on "Blue Magic"), and Fat Tony (on "Lurkin'"). In early 2013, he posted on his

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that he would retire from making rap music after 2013. On December 6, 2013, he released his first full-length album, ''Debut''. Big Baby Gandhi came out of retirement in 2017 with his release ''27'' and proceeded to drop various loose tracks since. In 2019 Big Baby Gandhi released a studio album ''We Live In A Society'' with features from Mr. MFN eXquire and Victor Freeze.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

has given A− grades to both of Gandhi's mixtapes. Of ''Big Fucking Baby'', he wrote, "The flow seems effortlessly idiomatic, only not

South Asian South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

idiomatic, whatever that would sound like besides Heems." In his review of ''No1 2 Look Up 2'', Jacob Moore wrote that Gandhi's "pop culture references and choice of content falls in line with the style of Das Racist, but he favors an intense delivery more similar to

Danny Brown Daniel Dewan Sewell (born March 16, 1981), better known as Danny Brown, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He was described by MTV in 2011 as "one of rap's most unique figures in recent memory". After amassing ...

than Heems or Kool A.D.".

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

's Ian Cohen was less favorable in his review of ''NO1 2 LOOK UP 2'', which he gave a 5.5 out of 10 rating. Cohen wrote that on the album, "Gandhi mostly steamrolls his predecessors' idiosyncrasies by making his delivery louder, and more awkward," and that the album "works best when he drops the implausible pose as a hip-hop savior and raps as himself."

Discography

Mixtapes

*''Big Fucking Baby'' (self-released, 2011) *''No1 2 Look Up 2'' (Greedhead, 2012) *''27'' (411 Records, 2017)

Studio albums

*''Debut'' (Crack Diamonds Entertainment, 2013) *''We Live In A Society'' (U Don't Deserve This Beautiful Art & 411 Records, 2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gandhi, Big Baby Rappers from Queens, New York American musicians of Bangladeshi descent Living people Bangladeshi emigrants to the United States 21st-century American rappers Year of birth missing (living people)