Earworm: Das Racist “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell” (Wallpaper Remix)
October 2nd, 2009
Who: Das Racist; Wallpaper
What: Wesleyan University-educated Brooklyn rap duo formed by Himanshu Suri and Victor Vazquez, telling the simple story of two confused friends trying to find each other in the same Pizza Hut/Taco Bell on Jamaica Ave. in Queens, New York (in Canada, we have combination KFC & Taco Bells, but it still works). Remixed by Oakland-based artist/producer Wallpaper, aka Eric Frederic, aka Ricky Reed (Frederic’s alter-ego).
Sounds like: On the surface, ornery fools rapping repetitively over a funky, old school sax line that gives way to heavy rock riffs, pounding drums and electronic blips about their inability to find each other. At its heart, a brash critique of the fast food nation as an analogy for the hollow nature of mass media and popular culture.
RIYL: LMFAO, The Cool Kids, Party Fun Action Committee, Tay Zonday
Need to know: While the original version of “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell” isn’t as infectious as the Wallpaper remix, Das Racist have a few other great songs. “One Dollar Can” (which can be heard on their MySpace page) is a Marley-era reggae tribute to the static price of Arizona Iced Tea in the face of an unstable economic climate. Sample lyric: “Gas price go up, gas price go down, one dollar can, one dollar all the time.” Another song, “Chicken and Meat”, is a club-ready stream of consciousness track that considers consumer culture and racial polemics alike. Wallpaper also has a few other subversive tracks, like his Auto-Tuned remix/blend of Jay-Z’s “Death of Auto-Tune” and “99 Problems.”
Track: According to New York magazine, “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell” has been described as both “Harold and Kumar existentialism” and “the worst song in the world.” If Pizza Hut and/or Taco Bell were savvy, they’d co-opt the track for a commerical.
Buy: “Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell (Wallpaper Remix)” can be downloaded here.
- Jason Richards
Tags: Combination Pizza Hut & Taco Bell, Das Racist, Wallpaper
Posted on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 1:19 pm by Cam and is filed under Earworm, The New Music.
