Anik Khan Reps Queens And Bangladesh In His “Mantra” Video

Anik Khan is a rapper from Queens with Bengali heritage, two parts of his identity that he's very much proud to own. In the dark, VHS-filtered clip for "Mantra," premiering today on The FADER, he's dressed in a gold-trimmed kurta, proclaiming all kinds of loyalty—to his culture, his mans, and his girl. The Amon Abdallah-produced beat is bassy in the right places, with a wisp of a vocal sample floating above Anik's flows.

"For me 'Mantra' is about what I value most in life, the people I love, and doing right by the culture that raised me," Anik Khan explained in an email. "And by culture I don't just mean rap music or my foreign origins; I mean hip hop, queens, and my Bengali heritage all in one."