Relax (Das Racist album)

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]

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]

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]

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. 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. Hughes, Josiah (July 8, 2011). "Das Racist Reveal New 'Relax' LP". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  4. "Das Racist Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  5. 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. 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. "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. 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. 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. 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.
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