Anik Khan has had arguably the best year any up and coming artist could have. The Queens rapper released his first EP Kites and his first show in New York City sold out. He recently just wrapped up his first tour filling up venues from the west to the east with another rising star, Jidenna.
Anik Khan is known for having his own unique style to him, that is, embracing who he is and not hiding behind a persona. His five million streams on Soundcloud show that, so far, it’s getting him somewhere. For Khan, his success isn’t for himself but more so for the group of people who rarely have a voice, the people of Bengal. When asked about Bengal, Khan says, “We’re a young country that’s still figuring it out, but we have so much to offer”.
Khan has brought his talent as a singer/songwriter to America and is telling the story of an immigrant. Khan has found a new and innovative way to express the story, portraying it all over his tour merchandise. Khan has collaborated with designer Joshua Vanleader to create a different type of tour merch. Together they created a way to express the diversity and culture that raised Khan. Khan has put three of his favorite spots in Queens on his tour merch including: Trinciti Roti, Mahmoud’s Corner, and Fatima’s Halal Kitchen. All the shirts for the collection have been manufactured by Far East Knitting and Dyeing LTD. The tees are available at http://anikkhanmerch.com for $40.
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“Let a Bengali-born, Queens-borough New Yorker show you a new meaning of what it actually means to be ‘Made in Bangladesh’”.
The shirt designs are all relatively similar. The menu printed on the front and store information on the back with Khan’s name only visible on the sleeve. The Shirts closely resemble standard uniforms at anyone’s local roti restaurant. Khans says, “Queens is the greatest place in the world. I want to promote these amazing businesses and tell their story”. With his new style comes as a breath of fresh air seeing as most artist tour merchandise comes with the nearly the same designs, such as, artist name, tour name, and dates of cities they will be visiting.
The tees also show off Khan’s optimistic side. Even with all the political debate or racial stereotypes of middle eastern culture, Khan doesn’t let it put a hamper on his vision and how he wants to show off what his upbringing and culture background means. Being an immigrant in a seemingly hostile America isn’t an easy task, but Khan has found a way through it all with his talented music and surprisingly tasteful merchandise.
To keep up with the latest news of Anik Khan you can follow him at the following social media platforms: Instagram (@anikkhan_), Twitter (@AnikKhan_), and Facebook (Anik Khan).
