''Lafandar'' is a collaborative studio album by American hip hop artist

Heems Himanshu Kumar Suri (born July 6, 1985), better known by his stage name Heems, is an American rapper. 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 ...

and Indian-American producer Gaurav Nagpal, also known as Lapgan. It was released on February 16, 2024, through Veena Sounds and Mass Appeal India.

Background

Following a six-year break from music, ''Lafandar'' sees a return for the rapper under his newly found label Veena Sounds. The album is a collaboration project with Indian-American producer Lapgan, whose project ''History'' previously marked the first release on the label. The producer incorporated various "cinematic South Asian samples" on the record that are set to compliment Heems' trademark "laugh-out-loud wit". ''Lafandar'' features guest appearances by

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Open Mike Eagle Michael W. Eagle II (born November 14, 1980), better known by his stage name Open Mike Eagle, is an American hip hop artist and comedian. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, he is now based in Los Angeles, California, where he is a member of the h ...

Quelle Chris Gavin Christopher Tennille (born October 19, 1984), known as Quelle Chris, is an American record producer, rapper and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. He has released over 15 albums as a solo act and with his collaborative projects. Career Te ...

Your Old Droog Dmitry Kutsenko, known by his stage name Your Old Droog, is a Ukrainian-born American rapper and producer from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York. He first gained public attention in June 2014 when online rumors were circulated that his self-p ...

Saul Williams Saul Stacey Williams (born February 29, 1972) 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 ( ...

, Blu,

Sid Sriram Sidharth Sriram (born 19 May 1990) is an Indian Carnatic musician, music producer, playback singer. He is an R&B songwriter and has been working in the Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Marathi and English music industry. He regul ...

, and Sonnyjim. On January 23, 2024, the rapper announced the album alongside the release of the lead single "Accent" featuring Williams. On February 6, the rapper released the second single "Sri Lanka", a collaboration with Your Old Droog that sees them trading "punchlines".

Critical reception

Pranav Trewn at ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several awar ...

'' awarded ''Lafandar'' the accolade "album of the week", saying that the collaboration resulted in Heem's "most focused performance" since his

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 ...

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.

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals * Lapgan –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

* Ryan Rajagopal – mastering * Daniel Lynas – mixing

References

{{Heems 2024 albums Heems albums Mass Appeal Records albums