By Odeisel

It took a while for the off-beat style of Das Racist to be taken seriously. Their irreverence for traditional Hip-Hop, and their zeal for crazy shit, makes it easy to be dismissive and a cursory glance at the duo doesn’t help much. Buried beneath their unusual exterior beats the heart of serious practitioners who are true to the music yet willing to challenge its limitations. This time around they bring lyricist Homeboy Sandman on the very dope “I’m Up On That.”

The song alternated between a light strong driven intro and a multi-tone chime, backed by a pace-setting drum. There are subtle changes in the beat that keep you off balance as the three MC’s pass the mic but there is no commercial chorus much of a break to speak of aside from the refrain “I’m up on that.”

There are tons of lyrical nuggets in this song, with each MC sneaking in commentary about race and class relentlessly as well as subtle societal observation. The lines come at you as fast as they can drop them and the lack of punch line setup style forces you to tune your ears in to catch them. “I’m trying to make a living and a killing in the building for my children,” is rhymed with all seriousness, while elsewhere they wonder how expensive Reggie Bush’s Heisman trophy is on EBay. Homeboy Sandman notes how hard it is to be pious when the prize is not a piece of the pie. This song is full of similar gems that will keep the track on rewind.

“I’m Up On That” is flat out dope. Ill beat and dense rhymes that while complex, doesn’t take itself seriously. Fun Hip-Hop with more levels than The Legend of Zelda. Get up on this.

Das Racist Feat. Homeboy Sandman- “I’m Up On That”

Das Racist – I’m Up On That (feat. Homeboy Sandman)

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