Raj Haldar (born August 1, 1981), better known by his stage name Lushlife, is an American rapper and record producer from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He is the co-author of '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever''. He is one half of The Skull Eclipses.

Early life

Born on August 1, 1981, Haldar grew up in

Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,802, an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2010 United St ...

. He is the son of a school teacher and an electrical engineer who emigrated from

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. As a child, he had 12 years of classical piano lessons. He played drums and wrote arrangements in a high school jazz band. After living in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, he settled in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west."." ''City of Philadelphia''. Retrieved November 8, ...

circa 2005.

Career

In 2005, Lushlife released a

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their f ...

mashup album, titled ''West Sounds''. In 2009, he released ''Cassette City'' on Rapster Records. It included vocal contributions from

Camp Lo Camp Lo is an American hip hop duo, formed in 1995, which hails from The Bronx, New York. The duo consists of rappers Sonny Cheeba (Salahadeen Wilds) and Geechi Suede (Saladine Wallace). The duo is perhaps best known for their 1997 hit " Luchi ...

and Elzhi. In 2010, he was hired by

Connectify Connectify () is an American software company that develops networking software for consumers, professionals and companies. Connectify Hotspot is a virtual software router, router and Wi-Fi repeater software for Microsoft Windows. Speedify is a ...

, where he would serve as the marketing director. In 2011, he released ''No More Golden Days''. In 2012, he released '' Plateau Vision'' on

Western Vinyl Western Vinyl is an independent record label founded in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas. The imprint was formed by Brian Sampson and Ryan Murphy originally to release their lo-fi indie rock projects as Win Foster and Havergal. Artists *Abram S ...

. In 2016, Lushlife released a collaborative album with production trio CSLSX, titled '' Ritualize'', on Western Vinyl. It included guest appearances from

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, singer and activist. He made his recording debut on Outkast's fourth album ''Stankonia'' (2000), and guest appeared on the duo's Gr ...

Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded al ...

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician and record producer based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as S ...

, Deniro Farrar,

Marissa Nadler Marissa Nadler (born April 5, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, ''The Path of the Clouds'', in October ...

, and

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. In that year, he also released the ''No Dead Languages'' EP. In that year, he left Connectify. In 2017, he released ''My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power''. He co-wrote a children's book, titled '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever'', with Chris Carpenter. Illustrated by Maria Tina Beddia, the book was published on Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in 2018.

Discography

Albums

* ''West Sounds'' (2005) * ''Order of Operations'' (2005) * ''Order of Operations Instrumentals'' (2007) * ''Cassette City'' (2009) * ''No More Golden Days'' (2011) * '' Plateau Vision'' (2012) * '' Ritualize'' (2016) * ''My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power'' (2017)

EPs

* ''Cherry Blossom Anthems'' (2006) * ''No Dead Languages'' (2016)

Singles

* "No Foundation" (2006) * "Still I Hear the Word Progress" (2012) * "Hale-Bopp Was the Bedouins (

Shabazz Palaces Shabazz Palaces is an American hip hop group from Seattle led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). Much of Butler's work as Shabazz Palaces has been made in collaboration with multi ...

Remix)" (2012) * "She's a Buddhist, I'm a Cubist (Remix)" (2012) * "Toynbee Suite" (2013) * "Body Double" (2015)

Books

* '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever'' by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter ( Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018) No Reading Allowed **The Worst Read-aloud Book Ever** - by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter 2020

References

External links

* {{Authority control Living people 1981 births Rappers from Philadelphia American hip-hop record producers Musicians from Philadelphia Record producers from Pennsylvania American people of Bengali descent 21st-century American rappers Western Vinyl artists Musicians from Glen Ridge, New Jersey American children's writers