The Overview:
Zero Point Zero, the production company behind Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, reached out to Heems about contributing music to the show.
The Houston-based episode was built around the city’s Vietnamese, Indian, Central American, and Congolese communities that make the city as diverse as it is, and they wanted music that reflected those demographics.
Houston’s hip-hop scene has its own sonic identity, too: slowed-down beats, “chopped and screwed.” When the cultures cross-pollenate, you have a distinctly Houston sound. To accomplish this, Heems brought Michael in to produce what would become “H-Town.”
Background:
Michael had been working with Heems for a while as a producer and DJ, and tour managing for road gigs. He knew the catalog, the references, how Heems wrote, and what he gravitated to musically.
What they made was a reimagining of the national anthem called “H-Town.” Heems wrote and performed the verses, and Michael built the track around sitar and heavy 808s. The fusion of the Desi and hip-hop communities in the same arrangement parallels the episode’s point: This is what America actually looks like.
Creative Direction:
Michael produced the track at his home studio on Long Island. The sitar gave the song its melodic backbone and tied it directly to the Indian community the episode spends real time with, including the dance party at Keemat Grocers that became one of the most memorable scenes. The 808s gave it weight and rooted it in hip hop, the language Heems works in and a language Houston knows as well as any city in the country. Between those two elements, there was room for the verses to move.
Bourdain gave personal feedback throughout the process. Having him in the loop kept the creative honest. He had a clear sense of what the episode was and what it wasn’t, and his sign-off meant the track had hit the mark.
The Results & Impact:
Anthony Bourdain, or “Tony” as the crew called him, gave personal feedback during production and signed off on the track himself. It aired in October 2016 and earned its own press, including a CW39 Houston segment with Heems and a write-up in Eater.
The work with Heems continued, including a piece for the VICE TV show Gaycation with Elliot Page and live performances alongside GZA from Wu-Tang Clan.
