Das Racist – Shut Up, Dude
by Emily Cassel (Journalism), published July 6th 2010
Das Racist may have started attracting attention with novelty jam ‘Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,’ but on Shut Up, Dude Himanshu Suri, Victor Vazquez and sometimes Ashok Kondabolu (‘Dap’) rhyme about way more fast food. The three have created a diverse, amusing mixtape that’s perfect for kicking back, relaxing and ignoring whatever work you should be doing.
The Brooklyn-based weed rappers are at the top of their game on ‘Rainbow in the Dark,’ memorable for its seemingly endless wit (‘Rap bridge/On a duet with T-Pain and Stephen Hawking’) as well as its insanely interesting hook. ‘Shorty Said’ is another standout, featuring hilarious comparisons between the duo and pop culture figures (among those referenced: Devendra Banhart, the Geico gecko and Turtle from Entourage.) Das Racist lose a little momentum on ‘Coochie Dip City,’ a lackluster, new wave-y track that drags on too long, but pick it right back up, closing out the mix with ‘Deep Ass Shit (You’ll Get it When You’re High)’ and title track ‘Shut Up, Dude.’
Basically, this shit is just ridiculously catchy. I downloaded Shut Up, Dude a little after 4 p.m. today, it’s now 7, and I haven’t been listening to anything else. Seriously. Just laying on my bed jamming. ‘Pizza Hut’ will get on your nerves after maybe 30 seconds, but the rest of these tracks are stocked with clever rhymes (‘Second Latin rapper to like the Beatles/But on the real, they swear I’m blacker than Cheadle’) laid down in a laid-back fashion over boss beats. The duo’s references are often obscure but always funny; they’ll have you chilling – and more than likely laughing – in no time.
Bottom line: download this now. These guys are going to blow up. It’s free on DatPiff, so you have nothing to lose except maybe a little time you would have spent doing something productive. And check out the video for ‘Rainbow in the Dark;’ it’s pretty trippy/cool and definitely worth watching.
Recommended Tracks: Rainbow in the Dark, Ek Shaneesh, Shorty Said (Gordon Voidwell Remix)
Rating: 4.8/5