Live Review: Heems ft. Dev Hynes 'Home'

'Dreamy' isn't a usual association one puts with hip hop music, but then again. Heems isn't your typical rap artist. One of the members of the now defunct experimental rap crew Das Racist, Heems is coming out on his own, gearing up for the release of his debut solo release.

'Home' comes after the release of Nehru Jackets and Wild Water Kingdom, two mix-tapes of Heems which have aligned the music community in adoration for the unsuspecting rap star, who's unconventional rap flow and lyricism has been a breath of fresh air in a music genre with can often rely on formulaic, often timesome, song structure.

As on 'Home', Heems defies all genre conventions, crafting a soothing breakup ballad with Dev Hynes on hand. As per usual, Hynes of Blood Orange fame injects his old school r'n'b flavour into the track - like he has done so many time with the work of Solange and Kindness.

Paired with hip hop though, it takes on an entirely different form - with Hynes soft instrumentalism flowing against Heems lyricism about a painful breakup. Whilst Das Racist was known for its witty and often social political lyrical content, 'Home' sees Heems delve into more serious and personal territory.

Talking to Rolling Stone, he had this to say about the song, “I wrote some of the lyrics in college at Wesleyan, some before Das Racist in Bushwick and most of it in my engineer Daniel Lynas’ old studio with Dev in Dumbo.” Even his relationship with Hynes is a matter of history. “When Dev was Lightspeed Champion he had a little-known rap MySpace called ‘Ni**a Bullshit,'” he said. “This was when we first started talking about a collaboration.”

'Home' is a surprisingly enjoyable single that hints Heems debut -  the brilliantly titled Eat, Pray, Thug - may be the unorthodox hip hop album we've been waiting for.

Words by Isabella Trimboli

LISTEN TO MORE MUSIC HERE

SEE ALSO:

DAS RACIST LIVE ON CONAN O'BRIEN

BLOOD ORANGE 'UNCLE ACE' (KINDNESS REMIX VIDEO)