Das Racist - "Michael Jackson" (8.5)
RAJ: #1: The few active detractors of Das Racist that I've heard take issue with the duo's hipper-than-thou bored-stoner flow, but with "Michael Jackson", that charge is even more iffy, because Heems is downright theatrical with his Jadakiss-in-two-decades raspy voice (Kool A-D even tries out this squeaky Weezy thing in the last verse).
#2: There's something pretty zen about the way that hook distills the vast majority of rap braggadocio (fame, money, and the demand that aforementioned fame and money be acknowledged) into nine words.
#3: If other rappers learn nothing from Das Racist, they should at least get back to Bollywood-sampling beats again, like the stuff Timbaland made in his golden age.
#4: The third verse here is a fun parody of rap clique circle-jerks, but it's interesting to see how straight these guys are playing their rapper roles otherwise - Heems' excellent opening shit-talk verse is as non-jokey as he's ever been. That is, until his last lines and the song's peak - screaming out "I'm fucking great at rapping!" could be the logical extension of Waka-Flocka-Flame-esque bluntness, but it also scans as giddily sincere. That really gets to the heart of what is so great about these guys - the parody is clever, but the deep love of what they're parodying is why it doesn't just seem like snotty hipsters taking shots at hip-hop.
#5: Is Janet Jackson really 10,000 times less valuable than Michael Jackson?
#6: Anyone want to take a crack at explaining that 9/11-y cover art? Because I'm at a loss.
(8.5)
#2: There's something pretty zen about the way that hook distills the vast majority of rap braggadocio (fame, money, and the demand that aforementioned fame and money be acknowledged) into nine words.
#3: If other rappers learn nothing from Das Racist, they should at least get back to Bollywood-sampling beats again, like the stuff Timbaland made in his golden age.
#4: The third verse here is a fun parody of rap clique circle-jerks, but it's interesting to see how straight these guys are playing their rapper roles otherwise - Heems' excellent opening shit-talk verse is as non-jokey as he's ever been. That is, until his last lines and the song's peak - screaming out "I'm fucking great at rapping!" could be the logical extension of Waka-Flocka-Flame-esque bluntness, but it also scans as giddily sincere. That really gets to the heart of what is so great about these guys - the parody is clever, but the deep love of what they're parodying is why it doesn't just seem like snotty hipsters taking shots at hip-hop.
#5: Is Janet Jackson really 10,000 times less valuable than Michael Jackson?
#6: Anyone want to take a crack at explaining that 9/11-y cover art? Because I'm at a loss.
(8.5)
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