Relax (Das Racist album)

Relax
Studio album by Das Racist
Released September 13, 2011
Recorded 2011
Genre Alternative hip hop
Length 50:12
Label Greedhead Music
Producer Various
Das Racist chronology

Sit Down, Man
(2010)		 Relax
(2011)

Relax is the only full-length studio album by New York hip-hop group Das Racist, following the success of their first two mixtapes Shut Up, Dude and Sit Down, Man. The album was released on September 13, 2011.

The first single, "Michael Jackson", was released via iTunes on August 2, with a video, parodying Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video, released shortly after.[1]

The album is produced by Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift, with acts including Diplo, El-P and Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend on guest production.[2] Relax was named in numerous year-end "best of" lists, including both Rolling Stone's and Spin's lists of fifty best albums of 2011 as well as earning the top position on music critic Robert Christgau's 2011 album list.[3]

Response

Commercial

The album entered the US Billboard 200 at number 103, selling 1100 units in its first week and 4500 in its second.[4]

Critical

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [5]
The AV Club B+[6]
Chicago Tribune [7]
Consequence of Sound [8]
Los Angeles Times [9]
Now Toronto [10]
One Thirty BPM (85%)[11]
Pitchfork (6.3/10)[12]
Robert Christgau A[13]
Rolling Stone [14]
Slant Magazine [15]
Spin (8/10)[16]

The album had a generally favorable response, reaching number 1 on the iTunes Hip Hop/Rap chart, and receiving a score of 8/10 in Spin magazine.[16] However, Pitchfork, normally very favorable towards the group, suggested that the album is a little more difficult than prior efforts, comparing it to De La Soul is Dead.[12] Rolling Stone included the album at #28 on their 50 Best Albums of 2011 list.[17] Spin placed the album at #4 on their Best Rap Albums of 2011 list.[18] Critic Robert Christgau placed it at number 1 spot on the Dean's List of 2011's top albums.[19]

Tracklisting

[20]

No. TitleProducer(s) Length
1. "Relax"  Das Racist, Patrick Wimberly 4:29
2. "Michael Jackson"  Das Racist, Patrick Wimberly 4:16
3. "Brand New Dance"  Patrick Wimberly 3:01
4. "Middle of the Cake" (featuring Anand Wilder)Anand Wilder 3:43
5. "Girl"  Blood Diamonds 3:23
6. "Shut Up, Man" (featuring El-P)El-P 4:32
7. "Happy Rappy"  Diplo 2:21
8. "Booty in the Air"  Patrick Wimberly 3:47
9. "Power" (featuring Danny Brown and Despot)Dash Speaks 4:46
10. "Punjabi Song" (featuring Bikram Singh)J-La 3:31
11. "Selena"  Patrick Wimberly 2:16
12. "Rainbow in the Dark"  J-La 3:51
13. "The Trick"  Rostam Batmanglij 3:01
14. "Celebration"  Francis and the Lights 2:40

Chart positions

Chart (2011) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard 200 103[4]
U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 15[21]
U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums 1[21]
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums 12[21]
U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums 26[21]

References

  1. ↑ amrit (August 2, 2011). "Das Racist – "Michael Jackson"". Stereogum. Retrieved 2011-08-02.
  2. ↑ "Das Racist announce details of new album". Rolling Stone. July 8, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  3. ↑ "28: Das Racist, 'Relax'". Rolling Stone. December 7, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
    Spin Staff (December 8, 2011). "SPIN's 40 Best Rap Albums of 2011". Spin. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
    Spin Staff (December 12, 2011). "SPIN's 50 Best Albums of 2011". Spin. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
    Eric Grandy (December 27, 2011). "My Top 15 Albums of 2011 (And What It All Means)". Seattle Weekly. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
    Staff (December 12, 2011). "Prefix's Top 50 Albums Of 2011: 20-11". Prefix magazine. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
    Greg Kot (December 2, 2011). "Top albums of 2011". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Allen Jacobs (September 21, 2011). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 9/18/2011". hiphopdx. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  5. ↑ K. Ross Hoffman (September 13, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  6. ↑ Tuyet Nguyen (September 13, 2011). "Relax". The AV Club. Retrieved 2011-09-17.
  7. ↑ Greg Kot (September 14, 2011). "Album review: Das Racist, 'Relax'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  8. ↑ Paul de Revere (September 28, 2011). "Album Review: Das Racist – Relax". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2011-09-28.
  9. ↑ Matt Diehl (September 13, 2011). "Album Review: Das Racist's "Relax"". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
  10. ↑ Anupa Mistry (September 22–29, 2011). "Das Racist - Relax". Now. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
  11. ↑ Will Ryan (September 15, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". One Thirty BPM. Retrieved 2011-09-15.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Ian Cohen (September 16, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
  13. ↑ Robert Christgau (September 20, 2011). "Das Racist/Ice Cube". MSN Music. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
  14. ↑ Rob Sheffield (September 13, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
  15. ↑ Jesse Cataldo (September 15, 2011). "Das Racist: Relax". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Rob Harvilla. "Das Racist: 'Relax'". Spin. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
  17. ↑ "50 Best Albums of 2011". Rolling Stone. December 7, 2011. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  18. ↑ Spin Staff (December 8, 2011). "SPIN's 40 Best Rap Albums of 2011". Spin. Retrieved 2011-12-17.
  19. ↑ Robert Christgau (January 13, 2012). "The Dean's List: Christgau's Best of 2011". Barnes and Noble Review. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  20. ↑ "Das Racist Relax Details". Stereogum. 8 July 2011.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "Das Racist Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved September 28, 2011.