Relax (Das Racist album)

Relax
Studio album by
Das Racist
ReleasedSeptember 13, 2011 (2011-09-13)
StudioSee-Thru Studios, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
GenreHip hop
Length50:12
LabelGreedhead Music
Producer
Das Racist chronology
Sit Down, Man
(2010) 		Relax
(2011)
Singles from Relax
  1. "Michael Jackson"
    Released: August 2, 2011[1]

Relax is the only studio album by American hip hop trio Das Racist.[2] It was released by Greedhead Music on September 13, 2011.[3] It peaked at number 111 on the Billboard 200 chart.[4]

Production

The album is produced by Diplo, El-P, Rostam Batmanglij, and Anand Wilder, among others.[5] It includes guest appearances from El-P, Danny Brown, and Despot.[5]

Release

On August 2, 2011, Das Racist released "Michael Jackson", the lead single from the album.[1] The music video for the song was premiered on September 9, 2011.[6] Directed by Weird Days, the video references Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video,[7] featuring the morphing faces of El-P, Despot, Lakutis, Hari Kondabolu, Mike Finito, Anand Wilder, Rostam Batmanglij, and Ben Schecter, among others.[8]

The album was released by Greedhead Music on September 13, 2011.[3]

The band played Late Night with Conan O'Brien on September 28, 2011.

Music videos were also created for "Brand New Dance"[9] and "Girl".[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.2/10[11]
Metacritic78/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The A.V. ClubB+[14]
Chicago Tribune[15]
Consequence of Sound[16]
Los Angeles Times[17]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A[18]
Pitchfork6.3/10[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
Slant Magazine[21]
Spin8/10[22]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 78, based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]

Tuyet Nguyen of The A.V. Club gave the album a "B+" grade, praising Das Racist's "acutely modern sense of humor."[14] Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine gave the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "Relax finds Das Racist operating as both consumers and creators of pop culture, spawning an endless pomo cycle of criticism and observation."[21] Paul de Revere of Consequence of Sound called it "Das Racist's definitive album to date."[16]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
Robert Christgau The Dean's List: Christgau's Best of 2011
1
[23]
Complex 25 Best Albums of 2011
14
[24]
Rolling Stone 50 Best Albums of 2011
28
[25]
Spin 50 Best Albums of 2011
16
[26]
Spin 40 Best Rap Albums of 2011
4
[27]
Stereogum Top 50 Albums of 2011
41
[28]

Track listing

No.TitleProducer(s)Length
1."Relax"
4:29
2."Michael Jackson"
  • Kool A.D.
  • Heems
  • Wimberly
4:16
3."Brand New Dance"Wimberly3:01
4."Middle of the Cake" (featuring Anand Wilder)Anand Wilder3:43
5."Girl"Blood Diamonds3:23
6."Shut Up, Man" (featuring El-P)El-P4:32
7."Happy Rappy"Diplo2:21
8."Booty in the Air"Wimberly3:47
9."Power" (featuring Danny Brown and Despot)Dash Speaks4:46
10."Punjabi Song" (featuring Bikram Singh)J-La3:31
11."Selena"Wimberly2:16
12."Rainbow in the Dark"J-La3:51
13."The Trick"Rostam Batmanglij3:01
14."Celebration"Francis Farewell Starlite2:40

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes.

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[4] 111
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[29] 1
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[30] 26
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[31] 15
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[32] 12

References

  1. ^ a b Hughes, Josiah (August 2, 2011). "Das Racist "Michael Jackson"". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  2. ^ Flanary, Patrick (December 3, 2012). "Das Racist's Victor 'Kool A.D.' Vazquez on Why the Rap Trio Split". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Hughes, Josiah (July 8, 2011). "Das Racist Reveal New 'Relax' LP". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Das Racist Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (July 8, 2011). "Das Racist Announce New Album". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  6. ^ Newman, Jason (September 9, 2011). "Video Premiere: Das Racist, 'Michael Jackson'". MTV. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  7. ^ Hogan, Marc (September 9, 2011). "Das Racist Drop Clever "Michael Jackson" Clip". Spin. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  8. ^ Goble, Corban (September 9, 2011). "Das Racist – "Michael Jackson" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  9. ^ Goble, Corban (December 9, 2011). "Das Racist – "Brand New Dance" Video". Stereogum. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  10. ^ Coplan, Chris (October 30, 2012). "Video: Das Racist – "Girl"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  11. ^ "Relax by Das Racist reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
  12. ^ a b "Reviews for Relax by Das Racist". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  13. ^ Hoffman, K. Ross. "Relax – Das Racist". AllMusic. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  14. ^ a b Nguyen, Tuyet (September 13, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". The A.V. Club. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  15. ^ Kot, Greg (September 14, 2011). "Album review: Das Racist, 'Relax'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  16. ^ a b De Revere, Paul (September 28, 2011). "Album Review: Das Racist – Relax". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on October 1, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  17. ^ Diehl, Matt (September 13, 2011). "Album Review: Das Racist's "Relax"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  18. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 20, 2011). "Das Racist/Ice Cube". MSN Music. Archived from the original on November 25, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
  19. ^ Cohen, Ian (September 16, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  20. ^ Sheffield, Rob (September 13, 2011). "Relax". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  21. ^ a b Cataldo, Jesse (September 15, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". Slant Magazine. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  22. ^ Harvilla, Rob (September 13, 2011). "Das Racist, 'Relax' (Greedhead Music)". Spin. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  23. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 13, 2012). "The Dean's List: Christgau's Best of 2011". The Barnes & Noble Review. Barnes & Noble. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
  24. ^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2011: #14. Das Racist, Relax". Complex. December 20, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  25. ^ "50 Best Albums of 2011: Das Racist, 'Relax'". Rolling Stone. December 7, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  26. ^ "SPIN's 50 Best Albums of 2011 (page 7)". Spin. December 12, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  27. ^ "SPIN's 40 Best Rap Albums of 2011". Spin. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  28. ^ "Stereogum's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. December 5, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  29. ^ "Das Racist Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  30. ^ "Das Racist Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  31. ^ "Das Racist Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  32. ^ "Das Racist Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2018.