Heems (aka Himanshu Suri) made his name as part of Das Racist, famous for their unlikely 2008 novelty rap hit Combination Pizza Hut And Taco Bell. His debut solo album is much less focused on laughs, though. Instead, Eat Pray Thug is deeply personal and introspective, about being brown-skinned in America post-9/11 and a tough breakup that happened at the same time Das Racist imploded. Suri’s clearly committed to losing his joke rapper image, and while this attempt is not consistently successful, the high points balance out the stumbles.
He has a gift for language, and his wordsmith abilities are put to work deconstructing his identity rather than crafting clever puns. Apparently, sample-clearance issues greatly delayed the album and prevented some songs from being included, which could explain the unfinished indie rap feel of much of the production. That rawness works on the political songs, but less so when he tries for lighter pop-rap flavours.
Top track: So NY
