Das racist isn’t joking. Or are they? The hip-hop trio has come out with their first label album, and this time they mean business.
After their first two mix tapes, Shut up, Dude, and Sit Down, Man, Das Racist has gained the reputation of a “joke rap group,” especially after their claim to fame being the hit youtube sensation “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.”
Their endless pop culture references can’t help but make you chuckle as you listen to tracks such as “Rainbows in the Dark” which states: “Rap hella much in a busted ass jetta with Coretta Scott King, rap bridge duet with T-pain and Stephen Hawking.” The song, originally off of Shut up, Dude has been reissued on the new album as well.
But now they’re out to prove to people that they are for real. The group’s members consist of Queens, New York-born Heems, and Bay Area native Kool AD, as well as the quirky hype man Dapwell. The fact that the two rappers come from both coasts is interesting, as they incorporate the contrasting cultures into their songs, showed prominently in the wide use of slang from both regions.
The group has a strong taste for expansive electronic beats, as noted in the opening track “relax,” which gives a familiar taste of what the group has to offer. But they do make a change of pace with “Michael Jackson,” their first single, where Heems takes on a deeper, raspier voice, even though the song keeps up with the goofball theme of Das Racist.
The track “Girl” also gives us an idea of how versatile the group can be, giving more of a TV, on the Radio type of sound with almost a Caribbean mood in the background.
While the group does an adequate job of showing people that they can take music seriously, they also are able to keep up with their wisecracking style they have upheld over the years. For some, it has always been easy to respect them as rappers since their first mix tapes.
Although they give the notion that they don’t take many things seriously, which may be true in some respects, they display creative talents as rappers and lyricists. It should be unnecessary for them to have to prove themselves, when they should be respected as artists either way.
Over all, their new album does a fantastic job of showing the public what Das Racist is all about.
