Haji Springer

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Haji Springer is a rapper from San Francisco, California. He is closely associated with the hyphy movement.

Haji Springer wearing stunna shades and showing his grill.

1 Background

[edit] Background

Haji Springer is one of the few rappers of Indian descent currently recording rap music. He was born in Oakland, California in 1981, the son of Indian immigrants. His family owns a small but extremely popular ice-cream shop in a low-income area of the Mission District in San Francisco, California. The shop is called The Bombay Ice Creamery, and is popular for it's eccentric ice cream flavors such as rose petal.

[edit] Early Releases

Haji Springer's first album was released by Mastermind Records on March 4, 2003. At this time, the hyphy movement had not yet fully begun, and Springer was rapping under his original moniker, P.I.D., which was short for "Political Indian Dude." (Not to be confused with the Christian rap group by the same name on Frontline Records.) He also occasionally would be known as Dr. Half Stupid.

The album cover showed him exhaling a large cloud of marijuana smoke from the driver's side seat of a large SUV type vehicle. Although the album featured some unique tongue-and-cheek raps regarding his Indian heritage, it was mostly unhearalded. The album is now out of print.

As the hyphy sound continued to evolve in the Bay Area, he changed his name to Haji Springer and began to rap in a thick, exaggerated Indian accent. His raps became almost entirely comical, which fit in with the flippant attitude of the new style. For example, he often refers to himself as "your local 7-11 rapper."

His new persona has given him a unmistakable sound, however, he is sometimes criticized for not having more precise technical rapping abilities to go along with his shtick.

[edit] Recent Activities

Throughout 2004 to the present, Springer has been featured on many mixtapes alongside other notable Bay rappers such as Keak Da Sneak, San Quinn, Mistah FAB and many more. An album on the late Mac Dre's label, Thizz Entertainment has been rumored to be in the works.