Heems and Riz MC Are the Swet Shop Boys, Churn Out “Batalvi” and a New EP

Shiv Kumar Batalvi was a renowned Punjabi poet and singer, who loved hard, lived fast, and died young. In this new clip from the Swet Shop Boys, comprised of Queens rapper Heems and London rapper/actor Riz MC, the late Batalvi pops up between archived shots of Bollywood glamour and militant handy-cam footage to remind us that life is a "slow suicide." Heems and Riz agree, putting in some FaceTime to spit sharp, scattered bars about the brown man's burden--their new Swet Shop EP is stuffed with similar rebel yells laid over bright, jagged beats from Ryan Hemsworth, Trooko and more. Both MCs offer blended perspectives of their home-cities and the distant lands from which their parents trekked, a lens that consistently offers something different, if not better--first-generations anywhere can relate.