Review: “Relax” by Das Racist

When Das Racist first burst upon the scene with the viral sensation “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,” many wrote the group off as a novelty act or one-hit-wonder. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth.

Unbeknownst to most, Das Racist has continued making music in the three years since their initial foray into the spotlight. After a lot of hard work, and a well-received mixtape last year, they have finally put out their first commercial release, “Relax.”

Much like “Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,” the tracks on “Relax” are a perfect storm of annoyingly catchy and blatantly offensive. These songs may require a few listens to fully appreciate but, once they do, they will be hard to forget.

The production credits go to Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift, with additional guest production credit for artists including Diplo, El-P and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend. The addition of these acts certainly helped focus the boys behind Das Racist in the studio, and this extra effort has clearly paid off.

Listeners unfamiliar with Das Racist should probably look up “Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” before making the plunge into “Relax,” but anyone who has enjoyed the offbeat rhymes of this Brooklyn-based hip-hop troupe will be thoroughly pleased.

Artist:  Das Racist
Album:  “Relax”
Label:  Greedhead
Released:  Sept. 13, 2011
Rating:  ★★★ & 1/2 out of ★★★★★