Experimental hip-hop artist Gonjasufi will release his debut album, A Sufi and a Killer, early next month on Warp Records.
Gonjasufi was first discovered in the mid-'00s by LA-based DJ and producer The Gaslamp Killer. After hearing some of Gonjasufi's self-released tracks, The Gaslamp Killer brought him to California to record A Sufi and a Killer with himself, Flying Lotus and Mainframe, a former associate of the late hip-hop innovator J Dilla. As the album was being recorded, Gonjasufi also provided guest vocals for "Testament," the penultimate track on Flying Lotus's Los Angeles.
As its title suggests, A Sufi and a Killer combines spiritual and sometimes explicitly religious motifs with a dark and experimental hip-hop aesthetic. In his more brutal moments, Gonjasufi slips into his alternate identity, Sumach. He explains: "Gonjasufi is more prayer...my prayer music, my worship music. Sumach, that’s more of my killer side – walking down the street cocking a gun."
Tracklist
01. Holidays
02. Kobwebz
03. Ancestors (go download here)
04. Sheep
05. She Gone
06. SuzieQ
07. Stardustin'
08. Kowboyz&Indians
09. Change
10. Duet
11. Candylane
12. Holidays
13. Love of Reign
14. Advice
15. Klowds
16. Ageing
17. DedNd
18. I've Given
19. Made
