Heems is set to release his second album of 2024, and he has kickstarted its rollout with a cut that explores the complexities of post-colonialism.
The Indian American MC’s 11-track VEENA LP will go live on August 23, and he has released a new single titled ‘MANTO’ to set the tone for the forthcoming bundle. The song dissects the rapper’s heritage in the context of Britain’s imperial pursuits in India and the 1947 partition prompted by their departure from the region.
“My only inheritance is broken tongues within me/ Generational trauma for Punjabis and the Sindhis/ What’s in a line, I could draw one every time/ I stand in line in court when they bag me for a crime/ A sword or a nice used to tear and divide/ They took what’s ours, now they say that’s not mine,” he spits, reflecting on a culture still crippled by the lingering effects of “divide and rule” tactics implemented by said empire.
About the audio-visual package, music-video director Nardeep Khurmi said: “‘MANTO’ started out as a love letter to one of Heems’s favorite artists, Joseph Cornell, and his film The Aviary, and evolved into an exploration of inherited trauma and sharing our love for the women who made sacrifices in order to raise us, all to a sick beat.”
To that point, Heems added: “These two inspirations, these parts of me creatively, Joseph Cornell’s The Aviary and Guru Dutt’s Mr. and Mrs. 55 were released the same 1955. This wasn’t that long after 1947’s Partition. So along with S.H. Manto and Amrita Pritam, all these thoughts were going around in my head.”
The 38-year-old rapper dropped LAFANDARin partnership with studio chef Lapgan earlier this year.
During an interview with HipHopDX prior to the album’s release in mid-February, the Queens native explained how he started out making one project and ended up with two.
Heems & Lapgan’s Distinct Rapport On ‘LAFANDAR’ Adds New Shades To No-Nonsense Hip Hop
“There were some cuts that didn’t fit in with the other album I’m working on, VEENA, and they kind of just sat on the side,” he began. “I was going to get like eight people on one track, but then I decided to start splitting it up. From there, it just grew into LAFANDAR.
“On VEENA, I get into healing, growing older, vulnerability and a breakup I went through, but this one is just more in my old vein. Like sketches, really, though my sketches have gotten a lot better.”
Regarding the difference between both LPs, he shared: “With VEENA, [producer] Sid Vashi and I are exploring instrumentation — guitars and bass — because we were thinking more about sound design and the musicality of it. There’s a song with Panda Bear where I just rap and he sings, then there’s one with Blood Cultures that I sing on entirely … there’s also one with me, Patrick Wemberly and Lee Ranaldo [of Sonic Youth].
“LAFANDAR is more rooted in traditional rap. Though some songs on VEENA are driven by bars, I’m also singing and doing other stuff on it. I think LAFANDAR is who I am at my core as a rapper whereas Veena is who I am as an artist and songwriter.”