Good Music That Everyone Should Hear: Das Racist

If you hate rap, then you haven't been exposed to enough rap. That's where these guys come in - Das Racist are a pair of rappers from NYC and Alameda, and they are obscene and vulgar brown men. However, they are also the most literate and hilarious rappers I've heard in a long time - it's hard not to open a new tab while listening and voraciously googling every reference they make, from Rumi to Gitmo to Harold and Kumar.

Joke rap sucks though, right? Well, not really, and especially not when it's as self-reflexive and intelligent as Das Racist are. They succeed in the face of the backpack-rapper backlash - people are sick of hearing about the shortcomings of hip-hop, but Das Racist bring those topics up and mock them without being didactic and preachy - quite the opposite, in fact. Just listen to the opening banter on hahahaha jk, and we already have a discussion and implicit derision for the tough-guy persona that most rappers build up.

Their discography is pretty slim at the moment - they came up with the rise of "internet music" and have only released two mixtapes and one retail album, as well as a handful of solo mixtapes and some unreleased stuff in the invaluable URC collection: a .rar full of their rarities and features, definitely worth checking out. If you're still undecided, give the impressive Womyn a listen:

They released their best stuff for free online, which you can grab when you hit the jump:

Download Links

Shut Up, Dude (2010) (Sendspace Link)

Sit Down, Man (2010) (DjBooth Link)

Das Racist: URC (2011) (Rapidshare Link)

Kool AD - The Palm Wine Drinkard (2012) (Mediafire Link)

Heems - Nehru Jackets (2012) (Mediafire Link)

Kool AD - 51 (2012) (Bandcamp Link)