Himanshu Kumar Suri, better known by his stage name Heems, is an American rapper from Queens in New York City. Best known for being part of the alternative hip hop group Das Racist, Suri is also the founder of Greedhead Music, an independent record label. In 2012, Suri released his first solo mixtape, Nehru Jackets, on his Greedhead imprint and in conjunction with SEVA NY, a community-based organization from Queens of which Suri is a board member. In August 2015, Heems announced that Fox had bought his story rights for a potential sitcom, and that he was working on the pilot. He is currently a member of Swet Shop Boys along with actor and rapper Riz MC and producer Redinho.
Heems performing on stage in Atlanta, Georgia, 2011
Das Racist was an American alternative hip hop group based in Brooklyn, composed of MCs Heems and Kool A.D. and hype man Ashok Kondabolu. Known for their use of humor, academic references, foreign allusions, and unconventional style, Das Racist was widely hailed as an urgent new voice in rap, after occasionally being misunderstood as joke rap when they first appeared.
Das Racist performing at Governors Ball in New York City in 2011
Promotional poster from the Sundance Film Festival for the "Who's That? Brooown!" video, in the style of Nintendo-published NES games.
Heems on stage in Atlanta, GA, 2011.