Swet Shop Boys – Cashmere

A Compact Debut of Rhyme, Wit and Virtue

Cashmere. For a debut album characterized by and populated with the politically charged wordplay and double entendres of rappers Heems and Riz MC, this moniker is more than apt.

The titular fabric, a mainstay of South-Asian culture for thousands of years, became the subject of sweeping Western fascination when William-Louis Ternaux of France began to manufacture imitations of traditional “cashmere” shawls in the late 18th century in what became one of the earliest examples of Eastern cultural appropriation—long before kombucha invaded Brooklyn storefronts or chai tea landed in the hands of Corporate America. Such a concept of “borrowed” culture is certainly foundational within the duo’s message. In fact, their album comes to a conclusion with “Din-e-ilahi,” ending in a brilliantly cutting verse by Heems in which he reflects on millennial fraternity brothers practicing yoga and Hinduism’s current place “in the bottle, marketed and sold like fairness cream by the model.”

However, maintain the phonetics of the title and one also finds “Kashmir,” the region famed for its ongoing border conflict between India and Pakistan. Riz (of Pakistani descent) and Heems (of Indian descent) certainly don’t overlook this underlying definition, a concept capitalized via inserted interjection from activist Malala Yousafzai halfway through the record: “I’m proud that…we can work together and show the world that an Indian and a Pakistani, they can work together and achieve their goals.”

Hip-hop has, since its conception, been a medium entrenched in the exploration and communication of adversity. Cashmere is no exception. However, while a continuation of this lineage, Swet Shop Boys’ debut LP paints the lens with the hues of their own personal struggles. Herein lies the emblematic power of the record—Heems and Riz MC spin the spotlight, moving past the tropes typically associated with the art form to illuminate the magnitude of their personal experience with Eastern racial profiling, cultural appropriation and social expectations.

Musically, Cashmere leaves little to be desired. The two emcees balance one another flawlessly—while Heems communicates through articulate minimalism, presenting his endearingly lilted lyrics under the auspices of simplicity, Riz tears through his verses with syncopated nuance, a blur of socio-political references and clever poetics. While there are no weak links present, look to the contrast in the adjacent verses of “Zayn Malik” for lyrical stimulation (“look, Zayn Malik’s got more than eighty vigins on him/there’s more than one direction to get to paradise,” Riz raps), or to the line-by-line interchange that concludes “Phone Tap.”

Special attention must be given to the synthesis of the instrumental underpinnings, masterfully crafted by London-based producer Redinho. The full album is a study in sonic perfection. The treble and bass are consistently dialed-in. Each wave of percussion, a constant fusion of Eastern and Western sounds and rhythms, finds equilibrium in the subtlety of Redinho’s panning. The nuance of his inclusion of South Asian instruments and styles—the album’s opening strains of the nasal “shehnai,” for example, or the Bollywood inflection of “Half Moghul Half Mowgli”—add hints of context, without beating their geo-identity over the head. The versatility presented in the production is astounding, from the trap-esque “Shottin” to the introspectively legato finale of “Din-e-ilahi.” It is no surprise that the likes of Hudson Mohawke and Mark Ronson are vocal advocates of Redinho’s work.

Cashmere is a near-perfect package, an example for artists seeking the secret of cohesive art. Simultaneously varied and unified, each song moves logically to the next and yet is entirely unique to the rest of the album. Never does the ensemble dwell on any motif or idea for too long. This economy of concept is perhaps the greatest rarity and feat of the entire effort; there is not a single second wasted, and as soon as each idea, melody or song begins to grow predictable, the canvas is thrown into limbo and a new shade of aural intrigue is introduced. Thus, the listener is left with a coherent message, a dynamic and diverse collection of songs and a bevy of melodic fragments that aren’t soon to be forgotten—and, further, this all occurs within the compact span of thirty-five minutes.

Time will tell what is next for this ensemble. If their following efforts mirror Cashmere, though, Swet Shop Boys truly have a bright future ahead of them.