the peculiar kind x afropunk fest 2012 – das racist

You may have heard MC Himanshu Suri’s (aka Heems) solo debut mixtape, Nehru Jackets and/or “51”, a mixtape by Victor Vazquez (aka Kool A.D.) Add hype man Ashok Kondabolu (aka Dapwell) to the mix and you get a group known as Das Racist.
We weren’t too familiar with their background but one thing stood out, why the name Das Racist? Heems explained in an interview with Sara’o Bery (Spring, 2009). “From G’s to Gents: The Formation of Das Racist”. Wesleyan MUSC108 Midterm Magazine.
“I think being minorities at a liberal arts college and that type of environment had an impact on both the way we view race and our sense of humor, which people often use as a tool to deal with race. I always felt like Wonder Showzen was a television show that captured that type of thing perfectly. When I saw the little kid yelling “THAT’S RACIST” it blew my mind. And then it became a game … to take all the seriousness out of making legitimate commentary on race, because that can get very annoying. So when something veering on racially insensitive would pop off in a commercial on television or something it would be like, who could yell “That’s Racist” first. And then we thought it would be a cool name. Das EFX may have been an inspiration.”

Based on their humorous music videos, lyrics and even their own video game (Dasracist.net), we bet these fellas are super fun to hang with!
With three albums already under their belt, what’s next for Das Racist? They recently signed a new record deal and will release an album in 2013! But, before that time comes, we all get to see them perform live at the AFROPUNK FESTIVAL 2012!