South Philly’s Lushlife a.k.a. Raj Haldar has returned with the follow-up to his impressive sophmore album Cassette City. In his new mixtape No More Golden Days, the local emcee/producer continues to effortlessly find common ground for his multitude of influences melding a cornucopia of flavors into a delectable stew that has its tasters coming back for seconds and more.
No More Golden Days seductively pulls you in with its opening track and intriguingly titled “She’s a Buddhist, I’m a Cubist” and its soulful hook, but when Haldar’s flow comes in, you know that the party has just started as he lays down whimsical and certainly memorable lines like “chasin’ ordinary dreams of mac n’ cheese and mackin’ bitches” while he trades boastful verses with Memphis’ Cities Aviv – “Parisian models and broken bottles, cocaine by the kilos, Italian grottos…95 on the turnpike that’s why we never stop until we livin’ in the lush life.” In the following track, Haldar delves into a more introspective side of his lyricism as he rhymes about his hometown surroundings, its urban decay, and the future over a Clams Casino-produced instrumental originally rapped over by Lil B (which I actually prefer over the original). Lushlife crosses over into the indie pop/rock world with help from OMD’s “The Romance of The Telescope” and vocals from ex-Titus Andronicus member Andrew Cedermark. However, the local native maintains his hip hop street cred exchanging lines with up-and-coming former Atlanta emcee now Philly transplant STS and Roots family member Dice Raw, who both are part of Black Thought’s Money Making Jam Boys crew. As you may have already noticed, you’ll find guest appearances throughout the mixtape, but not so excessively that it blurs out Haldar’s voice and direction. Worlds collide even further as he brings together unlikely bedfellows Frank Ocean and Fleet Foxes with the merging of the track “Novacane” and the chorus of “Mykonos” for the obviously titled “Novacane Mykonos,” which kind of sounds like something Yeasayer would have created – a world music vibe. It’s also evident that Lushlife has a partiality for the ethereal with the use of vocals from local area songstress and recently turned LA gal RYAT on Sun Glitters’ remix of “Still I Hear the Word Progress” – beautifully deconstructing what you might have thought was simply another hip hop album. The gifted young emcee/producer also feels some love from one of alt-hop’s latest poster children, Das Racist’s Heems, who contributes some lyrics while stating that “I don’t like features. But I’ll do it for Lush. Do it for cuz; cause cuz is one of us.” Gang Gang Dance’s “Adult Goth” provides the backdrop for Lushlife’s stamp of approval. And in “The Age of Imagination,” Haldar captures the inherent pop sensibilities of its collaborator Philly’s own Tim Meskers from Brown Recluse, and forgoes dropping any verses allowing for the joint effort and production to speak on its own merit. No More Golden Days roams the rough terrain of unlikely musical landscapes where you’ll find acts like Slowdive (“Catch a Breeze”), Katy Perry (“Teenage Dream”), and Drake (“Dreams Money Can Buy”) traveling along the same path, yet their inclusion on the journey all seems quite natural. Lushlife chooses to close out his latest offering by spitting his final words for a brief moment leaving me wanting more, which is quite an accomplishment for a piece of work packed with seventeen tracks.
While the albums title No More Golden Days may at first be read as cynical, it can also be interpreted as hopeful – words of advice. Not wanting for us to rely so much on the past and memories of the “glory days” for our enjoyment of hip hop – urging us to move forward. After all, the once ground-breaking genre was always meant to be painted on a “blank canvas.” You can download the mixtape for free or purchase the cassette HERE. – H.M. Kauffman