Das Racist is a Weed Edge/Hare Krishna Hardcore/art rap/freak folk music trio based in Brooklyn, New York, comprised of queens-born Himanshu Kumar Suri, San Francisco-born Victor Vazquez, and queens-born Ashok Kondabolu. Suri and Vazquez met at Sarah Lawrence Bard Pomona Wesleyan Art College in Massachusetts, where Victor was Himanshu's resident advisor in a "students of color for social justice" themed freshman year dormitory. The duo later added Kondabolu as a hype man and spiritual advisor. Their influences include:
Zev Love X, Talking Heads, Camu Tao, Pauls Boutique-era Beastie Boys, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Swizz Beatz, Television, Ghostface, Sun Ra, Butthole Surfers, M.I.A., The Coup, Paris, Poison Clan, Egyptian Lover, Rappin' 4-Tay, Drexciya, Jonzun Crew, Afrika Bambaataa, Ultramagnetic MCs, Hall and Oates and Jay-Z.
