Himanshu Kumar Suri aka Heems is an American rapper from Queens, New York. Best known for being part of the alternative hip hop group Das Racist, Suri is also the founder of Greedhead Music, an independent record label. In 2012, Suri released his first solo mixtape, Nehru Jackets on his Greedhead imprint and in conjunction with SEVA NY, a community-based organization from Queens of which Suri is a board member. Suri has also written about music and all things South Asian for the Village Voice, Death and Taxes magazine, Fuse, Stereogum and Alternet.
Early life edit:
Born and raised in Flushing, Queens, New York, Suri graduated from Stuyvesant High School in 2003, where he was the vice president when the September 11 attacks happened two blocks away. Suri then attended Wesleyan University where he studied economics. After graduating from Wesleyan, Suri moved back to New York where he worked in the financial sector until finding success with Das Racist.
He is of Punjabi-Indian descent.
Das Racist edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Racist
In 2008, Suri formed Das Racist with his college friend Victor Vazquez. Shortly thereafter, Suri's high school friend Ashok Kondabolu joined as their hype man. Das Racist first found success on the internet with their 2008 song "Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell", and then quickly established themselves within the underground rap scene with their 2010 mixtapes Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man, both of which earned them critical acclaim, including Pitchfork's designation of "Best New Music" as well as spawning tours across North America, Europe, and Asia.
Greedhead Music edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greedhead_Music
To manage Das Racist, Suri founded his own record label, Greedhead Music, as a management and recording company in 2008. Greedhead's first releases were the group's 2010 mixtapes. 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 Kool A.D. (The Palm Wine Drinkard) and Heems (Nehru Jackets) as well as Keepaway's Black Flute, Lakutis's I'm in the Forest, Le1f's "Dark York", and Big Baby Gandhi's Big Fucking Baby, and NO1 2 LOOK UP 2.
Activism edit:
Suri has been a vocal advocate of the South Asian community in New York. In January 2012, Suri joined the board of directors of the Queens-based community organization SEVA. Suri plans to work with SEVA to develop a community center with a recording studio for local youth. Suri has worked extensively with SEVA to push for more equitable redistricting in Queens. Suri has publicly supported Reshma Saujani's bid for New York City Public Advocate, saying, "We will probably have the highest South Asian voter turnout ever this year because of her on the ballot and the resources she will be putting in it. This is the most qualified and well resourced candidate from the South Asian community ever."
Nehru Jackets edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nehru_Jackets
In January 2012, Suri released his first solo mixtape, Nehru Jackets, on his own Greedhead imprint.Nehru Jackets was released in collaboration with SEVA NY. Guests on Nehru Jackets include Despot, Danny Brown, and Childish Gambino. The album has received positive reviews, including a score of 8/10 from Spin.
Wild Water Kingdom edit:
Main article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Water_Kingdom_(album)
Heems's second mixtape, Wild Water Kingdom, was released on November 14, 2012, also on the Greedhead label. It features production from Harry Fraud, Keyboard Kid, Crookers, Beautiful Lou, Le1f, and Lushlife. Guests on Wild Water Kingdom include Childish Gambino and Lakutis.
Twitter edit:
Suri has also received attention for his activity on Twitter. In the aftermath of the death of Osama bin Laden, Suri collected and retweeted racist tweets, drawing attention to the prevalence of xenophobia and islamophobia in the celebratory national mood. In January 2011, Rolling Stone magazine named Suri #11 on its list of "50 Top Tweeters in Music".
In 2012, a successful online petition was created by two fans after Suri said he may quit Twitter
Tweet Last night saw Donald Glover appear on the first episode of MTV's Hip-Hop Squares. The show was hardly the success that, well, frankly, no one t...
Donald Glover, better known by his stage name Childish Gambino, and Das Racist's Heems have come together to record a new collaborative song. "Tell Me...
an army vet, having served in the United Sates military from 1992-98. This recent string of massacres is not only a catalog of American gun violence i...
Tweet Since Das Racist dropped Relax last year, both Kool A.D. and Heems have been off doing solo work. Though a group record is expected in early 201...
Tweet Mid-August brought us "Killing Time," the first single from Wild Water Kingdom, the new project from Heems of Das Racist. Since then a few thing...
Heems: "Cowabunga Gnarly" After releasing the mixtape Nehru Jackets earlier this year, Das Racist member Heems (aka Himanshu Suri) has a new one out c...
Heems' song "Soup Boys" from Wild Water Kingdom is fairly political in its content. Appropriately, the song's video contains footage of President Bara...
Heems released a video for "Soup Boys" from his Wild Water Kingdom mixtape. The song is a commentary on drone warfare, and Heems appropriately unveile...
things, but it didn't change this: Stephen Norrington's 1998 masterpiece Blade is, at least in my estimation, the best superhero movie ever made. If y...
This weekend, New York's Whitney Museum will host performances by all three former members of Das Racist. During its Blues for Smoke exhibition, the m...
