Bands with Pans: Prince Rama
Bands With Pans is a series in which we shop for meal ingredients with a Brooklyn-based band or artist on a $20 budget. Next we tag along for the cooking, chatting and—duh—eating. This installment, we bug psych-art geniuses Prince Rama.
My brave photographers and I climb a twisted set of stairs to meet Prince Rama in their Bed-Stuy apartment. Nag champa hangs in the air, interrupted by indoor plants and all the glittery art you’d figure. The door is ajar, but immediately upon entering, Taraka and Nimai Larson meet us with warmth and hugs. They’re both wearing bright Spandex with rhinestones glued in patterns across their faces. If this is always the dress code, I’m impressed.
Maybe not always, but often enough. Taraka explains as we walk to a familiar grocer: “Oh this? Yeah, we did a photo shoot earlier and thought we’d just stay decked out.” They look like psychedelic space babes, which makes for a splashier entrance. They greet employees with almost the same temperature of friendly as they did us moments ago. The Larson women are just unabashedly kind, nice people. It’s almost jarring to encounter such unearned affection.