Das Racist Confirm They Aren't Nas or Damian Marley at SXSW

Das Racist, the New York hip-hop duo who broke out last summer with their infectious child-rap 'Combination Pizza Hut and Taco Bell,' opened their stint at SXSW 2010 by telling the crowd that they were not Nas or Damian Marley, who were special surprise guests at the Levi's Fader Fort across town.

Instead, they claimed to be the Cool Kids, then Vivian Girls, then Dum Dum Girls and then Vampire Weekend. No one seemed to buy it. Also mentioned was a bit of trouble they ran into with the venue's staff who apparently didn't let them inside for 20 minutes. Das Racist had only one explanation for this: "they're racist."

With all the joking -- or not joking -- aside, Himanshu Suri and Victor Vazquez churned out a energetic set that involved a fondness for picking up and twirling mic stands, picking up an twirling each other during rap segments and half wearing the clothes they first came on stage with. While it was hard to discern what exactly Das Racist was rapping about -- their .vocals are quick and this particular environment was a pool hall, so the sound was a bit muffled. Still, aside from dissing Carlos Mencia, the deep, repetitive bass grooves of 'Who's That Brown' had the crowd thumping along or considering the current state of race relations.

The irony of Das Racist, still, is that it's hard to figure out exactly how much irony they're projecting and how much is actual sincerity. But that's probably how they want it. After all, they did describe their sound as like "the wind on the Long Island shore at night" to us.