Das Insanity, Das Also a Little Bit Racist
Those familiar with my oeuvre will know that I wrote my inaugural article about the esoteric “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell.” And while I initially determined Das Racist’s music to be bizarre lunacy atop stifling beats, I have since begun my adoration of the hilarious avant-garde duo. Das Racist, comprised of Queens native Himanshu Suri and the San Francisco-bred Victor Vazquez, met at the crucible of artistic expression and innovation, Wesleyan University (see MGMT and Lin Manuel Miranda for additional evidence. And no, I sadly do not attend).
The now Brooklyn-based pair are often mistaken (I had to say often to comfort myself) as addle-pates, but are truly ingenious hipsters making dance friendly critiques of contemporary culture. When New York Magazine asked about the seemingly foolhardy “Combination” (almost a month after my article, just saying), Vazquez responded, “We could have written a structured treatise attacking corporate proliferation, or we could just say ‘Pizza Hut Taco Bell’ over and over. That shit’s way funnier.”
In addition to their witty rebuttal to criticism, Suri acknowledges that their music does not instantly call to people, like that voice of a generation Fiddy Cent. “We’re not making music that’s instantly appealing. We dabble with nonsequitors, dadaism, repetition, repetition. We make dance music while talking about not-dancey things. We say things that on the surface can seem pretty dumb but it’s a mask on some Paul Laurence Dunbar shit for actual discontent with a lot of shit in the world… A lot of people hear ‘Pizza Hut Taco Bell’ and then have preconceived notions about our entire body of work, that falls prettty flat if you ask me.”
I could write for miles about how incredible these vanguards are, however, I’ll stop pandering and get to the purpose of the article. Have I mentioned yet that they dropped a new mixtape on Monday? Due to the holiday season I have been strapped for time to listen to it in all of its glory, but I can now proudly say that its hot shit (sorry mom for the gratuitous use of expletives, I’ll give you a quarter later). Shut Up, Dude, which can be downloaded for the steep price of free, is relentlessly mind-blowing. The duo described their recent release to be, “comprised of roughly half old joints and half new bangers with an overlapping Venn diagram center of weird shit.” There’s no doubt this mixtape is experimental, and I may lose some of you for giving it such a gushing review, but Das Racist manage to improve upon every fantastic facet of “Combination” and turn it into an entire album. In one sentence, this mixtape is a Webster Hall destroying, intellectually impressive, 17-track extravaganza that will keep you guffawing and bouncing for days (but I’ll return to more mainstream material tomorrow… probably…).
Who’s That? Brooown! – Das Racist (YSI)
You Oughta Know – Das Racist (YSI)
good choice of posted tracks. great review too
initially, after hearing “combo pizza hut and taco bell” and the criticism it garnered, i was maybe a bit skeptical, but i was mostly indifferent. i downloaded it anyway, though, because i’m always interested in new music. so, i’m going to say… i’m right there with you on this one. i definitely recommend it.