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Rap Spoof 'Dominis in the Heights' Celebrates Cheap Dates

By Carla Zanoni | November 8, 2011 4:30pm | Updated on November 9, 2011 9:09am

UPPER MANHATTAN — Washington Heights' musical spoof duo is at it again, taking a popular rap song about Paris and giving it an uptown twist.

The song "Dominis in the Heights," takes Jay-Z and Kanye West’s song "Ni**as In Paris"  and converts its message about the struggles of being rich into a song about the travails of being broke and trying to go out on dates in New York City.

The video has already received about 160,000 hits on YouTube, Vimeo and various popular sites including World Star Hip Hop.

"The creation came from an idea about how there is a recession going on and times are not easy," said producer and video star Michael Diaz, who is best known for his role as Juan Bago. “Someone mentioned about going 'Dutch,' aka [paying] half on a date. We took it to the extreme and made examples of it."

In the video, producers and performers Diaz and Oscar Martinez portray different dating scenarios throughout spots in Upper Manhattan and New Jersey.

The video features the two driving around eating Dominican-style burgers called "chimis" from a popular truck in Inwood called Pica Todo while sitting inside a busted Chevrolet Caprice with a vanity licence plate that reads "Dutch." Lin Manuel Miranda, the creator and star of musical "In the Heights" guest stars as a Mister Softee vendor. 

"Half and half's not just for my coffee, boo," Martinez raps to his horrified date.

Although Diaz said the video was made in good fun, he added that the song's message tackles a "sensitive topic that men don't really like talking about."

"Hopefully from this video it can spark a healthy conversation about going 'Dutch,'" he said.

 

"I can't relate to 'Ni**as in Paris,' but I can definitely relate to eating a chimi with a jugo de chinola at 3 A.M. hahaha!" wrote one poster on YouTube, referring to a sour orange drink from the Dominican Republic described in the song, "Oreos on that McFlurry for you, girl!"

The video's popularity builds on the success of the duo's "Pan con Queso" viral hit earlier this year, which lauds the popular Dominican breakfast of toasted bread with cheese.

That video went viral last winter and continues to bring new hits on YouTube, with nearly one million hits to date.

Demand for the song led the duo to perform the hit at SOB’s in February.