Himanshu (Heems) – Nehru Jackets (2012) [Greedhead/SEVA NY] // Grade: A-
Listening back, the majority of Das Racist records have been defined by a kind of well-managed divergence from hip hop. Their most recent group effort and debut “album,” 2011′s Relax is a testament to that and Kool A.D.’s recent mixtape, The Palm Wine Drinkard stretches those divergences another step beyond. But with every Ying there is a Yang, and hot on the heels of Kool A.D.’s solo effort comes Heem’s own Nehru Jackets which brings some pretty strong convergence back to Shut Up Dude! and Sit Down Man. So much so that the whole record is intensely dialed on the mid-90s New York sound, but it spins it in a way that is far from expected… but this being a Das Racist release, that isn’t all that unexpected now is it?
While previous Das Racist records haven’t shied away from a very obvious irreverence for the conventions of hip hop, that irreverence certainly hasn’t gone anywhere, it just plays out a bit differently on Nehru Jackets. This adherence to the rules plays out largely in Mike Finito’s beats, which are full of simple loops and dirty drums crashing among everything from indie rock to world pop samples. Over those Heems spends the tape waxing poetic on a wide range of topics; From how women are and how to treat them, to the things that computers do, to how he spends his time, to why he smokes weed, to listing documented atrocities of the NYPD, to growing up in Queens as a young man of Indian descent. Combined together Nehru Jackets comes as close to the classic 80s & 90s emcee and producer archetype as DR ever has while still being distinctly DR.
Over teh course of it’s 25 tracks Himanshu manages to simultaneously reaffirm and deconstruct the conventions of hip hop, that balancing act is the joy of Nehru Jackets. This is revision rap, it’s hanging onto the good parts, and swapping out the parts that don’t work for something else new and interesting. General Hip Hop tropes like sex, money, and drugs make appearences but they are only momentary topics amongst a vibrant and expansive host of things Himanshu finds it important to address. The man gets on the mic without concern for how things will be perceived so much as how things will work. And it comes through with a unique poignancy in the guest appearances.
The guests on Nehru Jackets are the cast we’ve come to expect as Das Racist collaborators—eXquire, Danny Brown, Despot, Fat Tony, Lakutis, Big Baby Gandhi, Action Bronson and even Childish Gambino joins in the fun on a reworking of “Womyn” dubbed “Womyn 2.” But in addition to the expected cast Himanshu is also joined by a handful of young unknown Indian rappers who’s appearance works in conjunction with Himanshu’s promotion of SEVA with the release. The young rappers (Pawan, Ravi Eah Singh & Lovedeep Singh) who join Himanshu on a couple of tracks rap in languages that aren’t English (I’m not sure if it’s Hindi, Punjabi, or another Indian dialect. Given that there are so many languages spoken in India, and I have no way of discerning any of them from each other, I’m not gonna do the imperialist thing and just reduce everything to the most-commonly-known denominator), and the results are fresh and compelling.
While Das Racist have certainly been provocateurs since they showed up on the scene, their antics have at times outpaced the music for some people to handle. But on Nehru Jackets I feel like there is a more concerted effort to balance those antics with an adherence to the rules. The result is an incredibly strong and refreshing mixtape that seems to push and pull in just the right combination. This is what happens to New York hip hop when the art takes precedence over the artifice. It’s a great release, and you should definitely get with it.
Download Himanshu’s Nehru Jackets (Click Here)
