Last Friday saw Das Racist hit Toronto for the very first time to a room that made it feel more like the middle of July than the end of January. What it also saw was a crowd of people that potentially left feeling one of two ways – confused with a ‘WTF’ look on their face, or content with what they just spent $20 on.
As two-thirds of Das Racist hopped on stage (after a great set by Blake Carrington and a god-awful set by some opening DJ), they seemed relatively worried as something was missing. Their 3rd member, Victor/Kool AD, was nowhere to be found, which left an uncomfortable DR trying to buy time and an awkward promoter on stage trying to figure out what the hell he’s gonna do if the show can’t continue. During this time, another major issue came up – the sound. While attendees could hear things fine, apparently DR couldn’t hear much out of the monitors, which quickly becomes the biggest issue for an artist’s enthusiasm.
When their 3rd member finally showed up, and the show started to click, it became evident that Das Racist’s real Toronto fanbase didn’t care about sound issues or how many members were on stage. What they really cared about was rapping along to songs they bumped while passing a joint around. With a laptop armed with WinAmp (you remember WinAmp right?) dropping tracks like ‘You Oughta Know‘, ‘Shorty Said‘ and ‘Chicken and Meat‘, they got the type of reaction that only comes with high anticipation, and their ending track ‘Rainbow in the Dark‘ is what really made it count.
Depending on who you ask, you’ll end up with a different answer in regards to the show. You might get an angered fan who paid admission just to hear “Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell” (which didn’t happen, by the way). Or you might get someone who thought the trainwreck performance was fantastic. What’s certain is that Das Racist are a toss-up; if you’re familiar with the shtick, and aware of the fact that they’re not your typical rap group, then you knew what was coming. If you expected tight deliveries with a true-to-life hiphop stage presence, then maybe you’re not as big of a fan as you might think.
