By Andre Widjaja

“My pocket full of loud, yeah I got that Fran Drescher, I’m straight up out of Queens but ain’t no Tech up on my dresser.”

These two bars essentially round up what Das Racist and their new album, Relax, is all about: LOUD beats/rhymes, obscure 90’s television show references and most importantly, that they’re just some regular guys from the Big Apple.This first commercial release follows up the success of their two critically acclaimed mixtapes, (“Shut Up, Dude”, “Stand Up, Man”) by using the same formula, which consists of potent rhymes that would make Talib Kweli sweat, laced with heavy electronic production that would get any club party started.

The title song opens up with a soothing bassline that leads into a hypnotizing hook with robotic sounds and tribal chanting. The instrumental becomes the canvas for MC’s, Heems and Kool A.D to paint a picture of social and financial struggle. “Back in 1980 from Billy the Queen, she had a pocket full of lint, he had a suitcase full of dreams,” Heems passionately raps. It’s surprising and refreshing to hear this type of fusion of sounds and themes that you don’t often hear in hip-hop.

The pair continues their lyrical tirade over a drunken instrumental as they criticize the capitalist system and the media on “Middle of the Cake.” They take some open shots at Google; calling it “artificial karma” and labeled popular song lyric site, Rap Genius, “white devil sophistry.” A lazy yet catchy hook glues the strong verses together to make one of many memorable songs on the album.

Das Racist goes full throttle on the Hip-Hop heavy, “Shut Up, Man,” unleashing a lyrical onslaught over a boom-bap beat, making this joint a head nodder for Hip-Hop jumkies.  Kool A.D sets the bar high with his flawless flow and a rhyme scheme loaded with multis, which forces listeners to keep up.  Partner Heems seamlessly takes the baton and flexes his rap muscles with lines like, “they say I act white, but sound black but act black but sound white but what’s my sound bite supposed to sound like”. All of this is Hip-Hop goodness is topped by a fitting verse by Brooklyn MC, El-P.

But don’t get it twisted.

This album is more than social commentary and profound flows. If you’re familiar with Das Racist, then you’ll know that they like to play hard as well.

Things get really hot and heavy on the obligatory ode to ass, “Booty In the Air,” and the chorus “your booty is my lifeline.” It doesn’t stop there. They bring out the expensive stuff on “Punjabi Song,” blending heavy synths with a catchy bhangra hook courtesy of New York bhangra artist, Bikram Singh.  These party-friendly songs are more than just background music to another spring break vacation. They represent the contrast and duality that everyday people can relate to and surprisingly, these songs don’t split the cohesion of the overall sound of the album.  It all sounds right.

The album rarely falls short in any regard. Even songs that could be dismissed as typical and devoid of substance serve a greater purpose in contributing to the overall message of the album.

This new progressive brand of hip-hop is becoming increasingly popular with the growing success of artists such as, The Cool Kids, Theophilus London and the Airplane Boys. But it’s their tight grasp on engaging lyrics and versatile flows that set them apart from their contemporaries. In other words, these guys can rap and are damn well good at it.

Relax is a brave debut effort that should force critics to take a more serious look at the New York group that goes beyond the joke rap they’ve been known for. It’s a balancing act of sounds and themes that should get both, hipsters and hip-hop heads, bopping their heads.
3.75 Out of 5

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