The Animal Show » Das Racist

Good Friday

dfjacobs — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 15:00:01 +0000

"You are now in the midst of a real MC"

I’ve been introducing myself to hoards of new people recently, and when the conversation inevitably broaches the subject of music, people often say, “you have fantastic taste, not to mention you’re brilliant and irresistibly handsome, you should write for a music blog.” Perhaps I embellished that conversation a tad, but only the part about my music taste, everything else was embellished a lot. Anyway, it’s always embarrassing to admit that while I already do write for a blog, I haven’t posted in months. Apparently ladies aren’t as impressed by lethargy as I had hoped.

Like Edward Ruler of the Polar Bears, I too have been unimpressed by the majority of summer releases. There have certainly been gems among the crap, but the ratio of Sir Lucious Left Foot to everything else is less than favorable. That said, my life-changing experiences at Lollapalooza should have amassed a three-part series of Pulitzer-worthy journalism, but again, I plead inertia.

As I often do on articles ending a hiatus, I’ll keep the words to a minimum and just deliver three of my favorite recently played songs. The first is “Good Friday,” one of the greatest Yeezy beats of all-time, and unlike its peer “Runaway,” this one does not feature the lyrics “find pictures in my email/ sent this girl a picture of my dick.” “Good Friday” is the best of a surprisingly strong (with the major exception of “Runaway”), batch of Good Friday releases; welcome back Ye. Next is the breakout hit off the latest Das Racist mixtape, Sit Down, Man. The track “hahahaha jk?” proves the incredible lyrical prowess of these Wesleyan alums and dfjacobs favorite. The apotheosis of their lyrical adroitness is without a doubt, “call me Dwight Schrute the way that I eat beats.” Finally, I leave you with the 2nd single off the Glitter & Bones’ eponymous debut. A song that has tons of “Top Gun” eighties flavor despite being created by a kid born in ’92. Think Tunnel of Love meets the Ivy League, mostly because it’s Adrian of the Ivy League’s new project.

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
Download (%20Pusha%20T).

Good Friday (feat. Common, Pusha T, KiD CuDi, Big Sean & Charlie Wilson) – Kanye West (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

hahahaha jk? – Das Racist (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Summer Boys – Glitter & Bones (YSI)

Das Insanity, Das Also a Little Bit Racist

dfjacobs — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 15:00:06 +0000

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…).

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Who’s That? Brooown! – Das Racist (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

You Oughta Know – Das Racist (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Nutmeg – Das Racist (YSI)

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Shorty Said (Gordon Voidwell Remix) – Das Racist (YSI)

Not as good as Taco Bell Doritos, but close…

Not as good as Taco Bell Doritos, but close…

dfjacobs — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:21:27 +0000

Where you at??

Many of my childhood memories are comprised of the extravagant yet startlingly cheap buffet at Pizza Hut. What resulted was my “pizza gut” and “pizza butt” that Das Racist so eloquently speak of in their blazing hot single “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell.” While many logical arguments can be made for why it is one of the worst disgraces to music since Billy Ray Cyrus, this song is undeniably a summer jam that can be blasted at beach BBQs, roller-rink dances, and trailerpark hootenannies, securing the much sought-after summer jam trifecta. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I thought this song was a parody on first listen. Luckily for summer jams, profound and complicated lyrics are not integral to their success. I don’t think anyone has pulled an all-nighter studying the intricacies and depth of summer jams like “Who Let the Dogs Out” or “Bootylicious.” And while it may be at least two minutes too long, the synth on the Wallpaper remix is at the very least “chunkified” on Edward’s internationally-renowned chunk scale. If nothing else, this song will put you on the ground laughing and then make you dance senselessly.

Best served covered in Nacho Cheez Product:

Author insert a music with WS Audio Player
(Download) this music.

Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix) – Das Racist (YSI)