Raj Haldar (born August 1, 1981), better known by his stage name Lushlife, is an American rapper and record producer from

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He is the co-author of '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever''. He is one half of The Skull Eclipses.

Early life

Born on August 1, 1981, Haldar grew up in

Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough’s population was 7,802, reflecting an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2 ...

. He is the son of a school teacher and an electrical engineer who emigrated from

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. As a child, he had 12 years of classical piano lessons. He played drums and wrote arrangements in a high school jazz band. After living in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, he settled in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

mashup album, titled ''West Sounds''. In 2009, he released ''Cassette City'' on Rapster Records. It included vocal contributions from

Camp Lo Camp Lo is an American hip hop duo, formed in 1995, which hails from The Bronx, New York. The duo consists of rappers Sonny Cheeba (Salahadeen Wilds) and Geechi Suede (Saladine Wallace). The duo is perhaps best known for their 1997 hit "Luchi ...

and

Elzhi Jason Powers (born May 12, 1978), better known by his stage name Elzhi (stylized as eLZhi), is an American Rapping, rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is a former member of Slum Village and now records as a solo artist. In his youth, he made nume ...

. In 2010, he was hired by

Connectify Connectify () is an American software company that develops networking software for consumers, professionals and companies. Connectify Hotspot is a virtual router software for Microsoft Windows, and Speedify is a mobile VPN service with channel ...

, where he would serve as the marketing director. In 2011, he released ''No More Golden Days''. In 2012, he released ''

Plateau Vision ''Plateau Vision'' is a solo studio album by Lushlife. It was released on Western Vinyl on April 17, 2012. It includes guest appearances from Styles P, Heems, Shad, and Cities Aviv. Music videos were created for "Still I Hear the Word Progress" an ...

'' on

Western Vinyl Western Vinyl is an independent record label founded in 1998 and based in Austin, Texas. The imprint was formed by Brian Sampson and Ryan Murphy originally to release their lo-fi indie rock projects as Win Foster and Havergal. Artists *Abram Sh ...

. In 2016, Lushlife released a collaborative album with production trio CSLSX, titled ''

Ritualize ''Ritualize'' is a collaborative studio album by Lushlife and CSLSX. It was released on Western Vinyl on February 19, 2016. Production Philadelphia rapper and record producer Lushlife contacted local record production trio CSLSX to see if they wa ...

'', on Western Vinyl. It included guest appearances from

Killer Mike Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP ''Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single " ...

Ariel Pink Ariel Marcus Rosenberg ( ; born June 24, 1978), professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi music, lo-fi aesthetic and home ...

RJD2 Ramble Jon Krohn (born May 27, 1976), better known by his stage name RJD2, is an American musician based in Columbus, Ohio. He is the owner of record label RJ's Electrical Connections. He has been a member of groups such as Soul Position, MHz Lega ...

, Deniro Farrar,

Marissa Nadler Marissa Nadler (born April 5, 1981) is an American musician and fine artist. Active since 2000, she is currently signed to Sacred Bones Records and Bella Union, and released her ninth full-length studio album, ''The Path of the Clouds'', in Oc ...

, and

Freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...

. In that year, he also released the ''No Dead Languages'' EP. In that year, he left Connectify. In 2017, he released ''My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power''. He co-wrote a children's book, titled '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever'', with Chris Carpenter. Illustrated by Maria Tina Beddia, the book was published on Sourcebooks Jabberwocky in 2018.

Discography

Albums

* ''West Sounds'' (2005) * ''Order of Operations'' (2005) * ''Order of Operations Instrumentals'' (2007) * ''Cassette City'' (2009) * ''No More Golden Days'' (2011) * ''

'' (2012) * ''

'' (2016) * ''My Idols Are Dead + My Enemies Are in Power'' (2017)

EPs

* ''Cherry Blossom Anthems'' (2006) * ''No Dead Languages'' (2016)

Singles

* "No Foundation" (2006) * "Still I Hear the Word Progress" (2012) * "Hale-Bopp Was the Bedouins (

Shabazz Palaces Shabazz Palaces is an American hip hop group from Seattle led by Ishmael Butler a.k.a. Palaceer Lazaro (formerly Butterfly of jazz rap group Digable Planets). Much of the Butler's work as Shabazz Palaces has been made in collaboration with multi- ...

Remix)" (2012) * "She's a Buddhist, I'm a Cubist (Remix)" (2012) * "Toynbee Suite" (2013) * "Body Double" (2015)

Books

* '' P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever'' by Raj Haldar and Chris Carpenter ( Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Living people 1981 births Rappers from Philadelphia American hip hop record producers Musicians from Philadelphia Record producers from Pennsylvania American people of Bengali descent 21st-century American rappers Western Vinyl artists People from Glen Ridge, New Jersey