Raj Haldar[1] (born August 1, 1981[2]), better known by his stage name Lushlife, is an American rapper and record producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] He is the co-author of P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever.[4] He is one half of The Skull Eclipses.[5]
Lushlife | |
|---|---|
 Lushlife in 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Raj Haldar |
| Born | August 1, 1981 New Jersey, U.S. |
| Origin | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, record producer |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels | Scenario, Rapster, Western Vinyl |
Early life
editBorn on August 1, 1981, Haldar grew up in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.[2] He is the son of a school teacher and an electrical engineer who emigrated from Bengal.[2] As a child, he had 12 years of classical piano lessons.[2] He played drums and wrote arrangements in a high school jazz band.[2] After living in London and New York City, he settled in South Philadelphia circa 2005.[6]
Career
editIn 2005, Lushlife released a Kanye West/The Beach Boys mashup album, titled West Sounds.[7] In 2009, he released Cassette City on Rapster Records.[8] It included vocal contributions from Camp Lo and Elzhi.[9] In 2010, he was hired by Connectify, where he would serve as the marketing director.[2] In 2011, he released No More Golden Days.[10] In 2012, he released Plateau Vision on Western Vinyl.[11]
In 2016, Lushlife released a collaborative album with production trio CSLSX, titled Ritualize, on Western Vinyl.[12] It included guest appearances from Killer Mike, Ariel Pink, RJD2, Deniro Farrar, Marissa Nadler, and Freeway.[13] In that year, he also released the No Dead Languages EP.[14] In that year, he left Connectify.[15] In 2017, he released My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power.[16]
He co-wrote a children's book, titled P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever, with Chris Carpenter.[17] Illustrated by Maria Tina Beddia, the book was published on Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in 2018.[18]
Discography
editAlbums
edit- West Sounds (2005)
- Order of Operations (2005)
- Order of Operations Instrumentals (2007) (with The Age of Imagination Quartet)
- Cassette City (2009)
- No More Golden Days (2011)
- Plateau Vision (2012)
- Ritualize (2016) (with CSLSX)
- My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power (2017)
EPs
edit- Cherry Blossom Anthems (2006)
- No Dead Languages (2016)
Singles
edit- "No Foundation" (2006)
- "Still I Hear the Word Progress" (2012)
- "Hale-Bopp Was the Bedouins (Shabazz Palaces Remix)" (2012)
- "She's a Buddhist, I'm a Cubist (Remix)" (2012)
- "Toynbee Suite" (2013)
- "Body Double" (2015) (with CSLSX)
Books
edit- P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018) ISBN 978-1-4926-7431-3
References
edit- ^ Sharp, Elliott (September 20, 2013). "Lushlife - Latest Challenge Is More Collaboration". Red Bull. Archived from the original on March 31, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f DeLuca, Dan (February 22, 2016). "Philly rapper/producer Lushlife on his lush new disc, "Ritualize"". Philly.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Soderberg, Brandon (April 21, 2012). "No Trivia's Friday Five". Spin. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Morrison, John (May 10, 2019). "Philly Rapper Raj Haldar, A.K.A. Lushlife, On Going From Rapper To Children's Book Author". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2019. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ Rapa, Patrick (March 19, 2018). "As The Skull Eclipses, Lushlife and Botany Stare Down the End of the World". Bandcamp Daily. Archived from the original on October 25, 2018. Retrieved October 25, 2018.
- ^ Billy Jam (April 18, 2012). "Philly Hip-Hop Artist Lushlife Releases Powerful New Album". Amoeba Music. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Nishimoto, Dan (August 22, 2005). "Lushlife - West Sounds". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Martin, Andrew (July 30, 2009). "Lushlife: Cassette City". PopMatters. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Jones, Kevin (June 26, 2009). "Lushlife: Cassette City". Exclaim!. Archived from the original on October 7, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Bevan, David (October 24, 2011). "First Spin: Lushlife Tackles 'Adult Goth' With Das Racist's Heems". Spin. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
- ^ Frauenhofer, Michael (April 24, 2012). "Lushlife: Plateau Vision". PopMatters. Archived from the original on March 8, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Jayasuriya, Mehan (February 17, 2016). "Lushlife: Ritualize". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Rys, Dan (February 17, 2016). "Stream Lushlife's New Album 'Ritualize': Exclusive Premiere". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
- ^ Breihan, Tom (September 23, 2016). "Lushlife – "The League Of Frightened Men"". Stereogum. Archived from the original on November 6, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Gizis, Alex (April 27, 2016). "Lushlife has Left the Building". Connectify. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
- ^ Yoo, Noah (January 17, 2017). "Lushlife's New Mixtape Benefits ACLU, Features Killer Mike, Kool A.D., More: Listen". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
- ^ Vadala, Nick (November 15, 2018). "Philly rapper Lushlife's newest project is the worst alphabet book ever". Philly.com. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ Maughan, Shannon (November 20, 2018). "'Worst' Alphabet Book Becomes Bestseller". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
Further reading
edit- Lushlife (March 7, 2012). "All Rap is Cloud Rap". Impose. Archived from the original on June 11, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2018.