So, you should listen to the Swet Shop Boys’ “Benny Lava.”
If you’re like me (and gosh, I hope for your sake, you aren’t!), you missed the Das Racist train. Oh no! But it’s not too late for you to jump on the Swet Shop Boys bandwagon. Hurray! Because I can’t carry this train/bandwagon metaphor any further, I’ll be frank: Himanshu Suri of Das Racist and actor-rapper Riz MC have something killer in the works with Swet Shop Boys. “Benny Lava” is a perfect mix of sharp words and punchy beats. In short — it’s the ideal jam to welcome spring.
One of the choicest moments comes early on:
I’m a big belly rude boy
I’m a fat sweaty Hindu
Stinky sticky icky
Yeah I’m smoking on that mildew
Thick black chest hair, fat gold chains
A few things that are working well here: Heems’ hairdo, the Pet Shop Boys homage, lyrics about Asian male body politics, Riz MC’s swanky jacket — it just doesn’t end!
Does it try a little too hard to exude “bad-ass”? I guess. But you can’t win ’em all.
The video is below and you should most definitely watch the entire thing.
Other things worth noting:
• That amazing Tamil song you hear being sampled and slickly remixed is “Kalluri Vaanil” from the 2000 film Pennin Manathai Thottu.
• The guy responsible for the slick mixing is Ryan Hemsworth — he is the genius behind this brilliant mix of Lana Del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness.”
Rohin Guha is a contributing editor at The Aerogram. Follow him on Twitter @ohrohin. Find The Aerogram on Facebook or on Twitter @theaerogram.
