Emotionally bare and unapologetically queer, Bay Area rapper Pandaraps puts a refreshing, contemporary twist on the alternative west coast hip hop tradition forged by artists like The Pharcyde, Zion I, and Ahmad. Introspective, irreverent, and inclusive, he uses his bouncy, nasal, sing-song vocal delivery as a vehicle to explore themes of adulthood, family, sexuality, life purpose, and the future. This heavy subject matter, buoyed by Panda’s ironic worldview, feels weightless and inflatable in his hands. Balancing childlike wonder with a world-weary pragmatism, Panda affirms the message that life should not be taken too seriously, and that we should be sure to have fun as long as we’re still here on Earth. He is also one half of the genre-bending indie duo Is Our Children Learning with his creative partner Big Soda.