Heems Raps at the Punjabi Deli in NYC

"Sometimes I Feel Like Manto" is a new one on the Veena album, produced by @sidvashi. I've rapped about Partition a little bit in the past but this is a sincere effort to speak on the generational trauma passed down in our families from the horrific events of those times.

We filmed in front of Punjabi Deli, which has its own significance to me. In 2015, along with @notguilty_nyc and a few others, we were able to petition the city to speed up construction in front of the deli and add a taxi relief stand nearby so the deli would stay open facing financial trouble and so taxi workers wouldn't get tickets for parking illegally. This is what the music is for - a real change on the ground in New York City.

Similarly in 2012, I used the Nehru Jackets mixtape to raise awareness on gerrymandering in Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park. The result wasn't exactly what we wanted, but we saw City Council District 23 unite Richmond Hill with Bellerose as a community of predominantly South Asians.

"A nation divided, my people they riot
I ask my dad why my grandmas so quiet
I ask my mom why my grandmas not smiling
I ask my therapist why I’m always wilding"

#newmusic #hiphop #desi #rapmusic #punjabi #partition #history #trauma

created by @saadmetla