Himanshu Suri already bestowed one album upon us this year, and soon he’ll drop another. Following February’s Lapgan collab Lafandar, Heems will release his VEENA LP this Friday. He’s thus far shared the Vijay Iyer team-up “Manto,” “Dame,” and “Rakhi” with Pavvan and Ajji. Why not one more advance track?

“Flowers” boasts a busily percolating, increasingly lush dance beat and a hook from Sri Lankan artist Navz-47, who performs in the Tamil language. She’s the first signee to Heems’ new Veena label, about which he had this to say:

I only understand the English parts but I know she’s spitting! I feel that visceral thing with her that I do other artists I love in languages I don’t understand. I first heard of Navz-47 in 2019 as the Global Lead of Desi Culture at Spotify, making the first 50 Indian playlists on the platform I put her on the cover of Desi Hip Hop early (in her career). I don’t have a distribution partner or anyone backing me, all my money’s in coconut oil, but I know I had to sign her. I really believe in her. She reminds me of Lauryn Hill, spitting better than the boys. I know she has so much more to show the world than “Neeyi Oli.”

Hear “Flowers” below.

VEENA LP is out 8/23 on Veena.