Working through the De La albums

[kalowski]

I've been re-listening to De La Soul's albums and thought it was worth a short thread.

3 Feet High and Rising
This is still as breathtaking as it was when I was 18. I utterly love it. The sample are so well chosen and well used it really sounds like nothing else.
Although their use of the "D.A.I.S.Y. age" led them to being pigeonholed as hippy rappers, the record itself is more eclectic, exciting and funky. Potholes on my Lawn is goofy whereas Jenifa Taught Me is just about discovering sex. The big hit, Me, Myself and I introduced me to a Funkadelic record I'd never heard before (Not Just) Knee Deep, but again, the sample is sued so well it trascends the original.

De La Soul is Dead
Apaprently after theri 1990 tour Trugoy the Dove looked at a whiteboard full of upcoming tour dates and, tired of being the "hippy rappers" wiped off all their dates, and wrote "De La Soul is Dead." Which led to their second, and equally great, record.
This is even more eclectic, I think, more ludicrous and daft, with its funny little skit that runs through pop (Oodles of Os), repetitive rhyme (Pease Porridge) and social drama (Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa). The great single A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays" really is an fantastic piece of work, pulling in samples from all over the place and melding it a together perfectly.

Buhlo͞one Mind State
More joy. More groove. I love Patti Dooke, Eye Patch and I Am I Be In fact, there are no tracks I don't like on this. Again the biggest single Breakadawn is perfect, using neat little samples from Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson. Obviously sampling became more challenging as the 90s passed, but the band and Prince Paul make the most of every sample they can find and use.

Stakes is High
This sounds different, perhaps driven more by bass and beats, and the content is darker still, criticizing hip hop in a number of ways. There are some great moments. The Bizness, Wonce Again Long Island, Baby Baby Baby Baby Ooh Baby and Big Brother Beat are all superb, although I think Itzsoweezee (HOT) is my favourite (even though Posdnous is my favourite rapper of all time, Trugoy raps the whole track).
"Yo, when I first heard 3 Feet High and Rising, I was -"

I'll keep working through the next few albums over the next few weeks.

[NattyDread 2]

What a fantastic run those first four are. I know there's plenty of gold peppered throughout the rest, but those are the ones.

[willbo]

as a kid I could never remember who was who out of De La, Tribe called Quest and Arrested Development. Getting into them all more seriously now tho

[Video Game Fan 2000]

The big hit, Me, Myself and I introduced me to a Funkadelic record I'd never heard before (Not Just) Knee Deep, but again, the sample is sued so well it trascends the original.

What makes it so sweet is the way its doubled with another PFunk sample "Oh, I" into the same seamless hook. Just genius. I like how their first singles contradict their image - they had the perfect sound early on, then fucked with it on later albums - but stuff like Me Myself and I shows that they were never not fucking with their sound. When their rep was the band who used unexpected samples, one of their hits was them layering well known PFunk and Ohio Players samples together and have it sound just as wild as when they were using Steely Dan, Kraftwerk and Serge

I think Buhloone is my favourite. When I got laid off I spent hours in the bath listening to over and over. It's less radical musique concrete but just as exuberant, and it has the best guest spots going. Dres, Guru, Maceo Parker, SDP, Biz...

[non capisco]

I also have a lot of fondness for the two Art Official Intelligence albums as well, especially the first one. Tunes like 'All Good' with Chaka Khan and 'Oooh' with Redman really takes me back to a fun and easy workplace I was in circa 2000, sat about in a basement media library listening to hip hop with a really nice bloke, a rap fanatic who to his own chagrin really and undeniably was the double of Fred Durst.

Come to think of it I remember 'The Grind Date' being decent as well. I don't think De La ever made a stinker, did they?

[kalowski]

I don't think De La ever made a stinker, did they?

This is what I'm hoping to find out.

[Better Midlands]

The big hit, Me, Myself and I introduced me to a Funkadelic record I'd never heard before (Not Just) Knee Deep, but again, the sample is sued so well it trascends the original.

That typo made me chuckle for obvious reasons.

[chutnut]

Despite 3 Feet High and Rising being one of my favourite albums of all time, I've never really listened to any of the others. I guess now's a good time!

[thelittlemango]

This is what I'm hoping to find out.

AOI: Bionix is seen as their worst album, which I agree with (also not a big fan of 'and the anonymous nobody'), but even that has some absolute gems on it like Trying People and one of my favourite Dilla beats on Peer Pressure.

One De La Soul curio is an album they did with Nike Running called 'Are You In?' that houses two of the best latter day De La Soul songs, Mornin' Rise and Forever, the production is sublime and I used to listen to those two on loop for hours and hours.

[Egyptian Feast]

AOI: Bionix is seen as their worst album, which I agree with (also not a big fan of 'and the anonymous nobody'), but even that has some absolute gems on it like Trying People and one of my favourite Dilla beats on Peer Pressure.

I found that in Poundland a while back. If that's their worst album, it bodes well for the rest of their discography, but I wasn't a fan of most of it. Some tracks even felt a little mean spirited compared to their earlier stuff.

I had a De La Soul and Jungle Brothers binge earlier as it was the perfect day for it. Native Tongues stuff was made for sunny days. The 'Native Tongue Decision Mix' of 'Buddy', my fave rave at the moment, was righteously blasted.

[kalowski]

Sneak peek: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump is not floating my boat like the others have, but I will wait until I've properly listened to it all before my write up.

[Joe Oakes]

3 Feet was obviously the most influential, but De La Soul is Dead was their peak for me. Never were quite the same without Prince Paul.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Despite 3 Feet High and Rising being one of my favourite albums of all time, I've never really listened to any of the others. I guess now's a good time!

Same really.

I've got a big hiphop nerd mate who is indifferent to most of their studio stuff but think's they're still some of the best in terms of putting on a live show. I saw them at something a couple of years ago and had a blast.

[kalowski]

I've seen them twice: The 3 Feet High tour and (I think) touring The Grind Date.
Both great, but especially the first one which had everything: She Rockers (with Betty Boo) as support. I was 18 in my green Posdnuos style shirt. Loads of beer and thankfully missed being mugged outside the venue.

[kalowski]

Ooh!
https://www.academymusicgroup.com/o2apollomanchester/events/1306942/de-la-soul-tickets

[phantom_power]

I am going to see them in Cardiff in March. It probably won't be a patch on their heyday but it will be a blast

[Astronaut Omens]

Apart from the Nike thing, the other big rarity to find is the album "The Impossible Mission Pt.1", a compilation of new stuff and outtakes presented in a mixtape style, with some quite funny commentary on the old out-takes. My favourite off that is probably their version of Common's The Corner, which I think is better than Common's original, but there is also a funny snippet of the unreleased song "My Mindstate", a track they made with gibberish lyrics just to unsettle Tommy Boy records.

[kalowski]

Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
The first of what was supposed to be a three part collection, I didn't enjoy this as much as previous albums. Despite the weird concept, it doesn't feel as strange and interesting as their previous work.It has some real highlights, Oooh, Squat and Copa (Cabanga) but I'm not too fussed about hearing Pos rap about "putting two in your chest" (I think it was him, there are so many guests on this it all sprawls out a bit.

AOI: Bionix
I expected the same reaction as the last record (I've not listen to either of these records for years) but I much preferred Bionix to Mosaic Thump. These songs just felt more joyful. I loved Simply, Bionix, The Sauce and others. Obviously hip-hop had to adapt as samples become less common, and it's a danger that tracks can become a little one dimensional, but most of these hold the groove well, which for me is the aim. I want my hip-hop to make me want to dance (I can't dance). I really enjoyed the skits with Reverend Do Good.

The Grind Date
Another interesting album, with an array of guests. Possibly too many but some of these tracks rock with De La and their guests working well together. Come On Down is great (and features Flavor Flav!) and I'm a big fan of Much MOre, Shopping Bags and Verbal Clap. I don't like it as much as Steve Juon who wrote "The Grind Date would go down not just as an important date in rap history but in the pantheon of all musical endeavours since the dawn of mankind. It's that damn good." It's not, but it's another worthy addition to the collection.

Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present... First Serve
This is fucking brilliant. It doesn't feature DJ Mace but it has Pos and Dave and it is a blast. There's some nonsense about alter egos ("Jacob 'Pop Life' Barrow", and "Deen Witter") but I don't; care about that. I was just enjoying the groove set up in each track. Pushin' Aside, Pushin' Along, Must B the Music, Tennis, The Top Chefs, Move 'Em In, Move 'Em Out could all be massive pop hits and should be, although looks like very few people got this one. Wiki says it made No. 223 on the Japanese Oricon Chart. Find this one if you don't know it. For me, it's their best since Buhloone Mind State.