De La Soul - Classic or Dud?

hip-hop people reviewing bionix all said
it sucked. indie rock type people reviewing
it said it was another classic from de
la soul. those are the only people who
reviewed it.

is STILL a really nice listen. if you take that song for face value away from the rest of the album, shows a real weird foreshadow of things Mo Wax/Beastie/Beck (mostly things I never cared too much for), but that weird international downtempo weird sample... it seemed to preface all that Cibo Matto/Stereolab/Stereototal (slow) modern rock-hop.

Not too big on De La Soul though; however, check this song out again if you haven't recently.

I played "Tryin'" before my brother's wedding a couple months ago, just to calm my nerves on a stressful day, and I damn near started to weep. The song is about being ready for the rest of your life, by guys obviously not ready for the rest of their lives.

All the records are great, but De La is greater than ever.

The Twin Cities hereby cast all their votes for "classic."

I'd swear there's a thread around here about mature hip-hop that I might have even started but I can't find it.

notions, soothed the mood

the first album kicks the 2nd's ass 8 ways to tuesday

"'De La Soul is Dead' is a better album than '3 Feet High...'" is the worst CHALLENGING OPINION in music criti

three feet high and rising was the first
hip-hop album i ever bought. buhloone
mind state was the second. it would be
cool to say bionix was the last one. but
it wasn't. it was good, though. the slick
rick one. 'held down.' 'bionix.' those
other ones.

hip-hop people reviewing bionix all said
it sucked. indie rock type people reviewing
it said it was another classic from de
la soul. those are the only people who
reviewed it.

-- DK, Thursday, August 22, 2002 3:46 PM (5 years ago) Bookmark Link

o.O

i had a thing for making paper since papier-mache

dude you were the one that told me 3 Ft High was dylan's first rap album

I heard De La Soul Is Dead in its entirety before I heard Three Feet High and Rising in its entirety, which is part of the reason why I hold this allegedly controversial CHALLENGING OPINION.

its totally not a challenging opinion wtf people - but buhloone mind state is better than both of them anyway

i say this as someone who has listed to those three albums more than anyone on this board im sure

production on Buhloone is less unique than on 1st 2. They're all great. 2nd>>>1st>>>3rd.

buhloone mind state remains my pick too

3>2>1

but theyre all great obv

1st > 3rd > 2nd

I heard De La Soul Is Dead in its entirety before I heard Three Feet High and Rising in its entirety, which is part of the reason why I hold this allegedly controversial CHALLENGING OPINION.

this is what I assume of anyone who holds same

lol no i had 3 feet around when it cam out it kinda marked my devolution from someone who just listened to the radio and had a few albums to a music obsessive. i remember seeing the video for me myself and i on bet at a friends house and being all wtf is this must have! then dead was the last tape i had before i got a cd player. i taped ringringring off the radio before the album came out and was all wtf at the new sound but it grew on me fast. then when buhloon came out it was just <3<3<3

3 feet is nice but they got sooo much better at everything

3 feet is nice but they got sooo much better at everything

I pretty much agree with this.

so do I. 1st and 2nd are both more "fun" (having guru guest on a track will do that, though har har). 3rd I guess a lil TOO good ie refined.

(tho i guess having biz guest cancels out guru)

omglol i am watching de la videos on youtube omg!

http://static1.videosift.com/thumbs/d/el/De_La_Soul_Me_Myself_And_I.jpg

this hair whaaaa!

2>4>1=3

For a long time I wrote off the AOI Bionix lps, but on repeat listen I think they are tight. I saw them perform at DEMF in 01 and they were great.

they got better at smooth jazz soul jams. but the 1st album is alive in a way those that follow are not and it's got the best wordplay by far. also, i like hippies and the color yellow.

Buhloone Mind State is better than the first two. It's like desert island material.

Would be hilarious if the epilogue was like 190 pages too.

It cracks me up how, for so many people, a book about a subject has to be THE BOOK. Like there can’t be multiple books, with different elements and intensities.

xpost Maybe if David Foster Wallace wrote it.

It's definitely been an interesting time to have just written a book about De La Soul myself, it's been mostly flying under the radar through all this.

this one?

https://www.jcardpress.com/shop/p/de-la-soul

Yep, that's right

Marcus J. Moore responds to backlash from De La Soul over book

meanwhile clear lake audiotorium preorders have sold out and the ep is seeing an official all-platform reissue in march.

idk how to feel about any of it.

They need to write their own book for sure.

I sent in a question for their recent Q and A in The Guardian;

Hi, The second album De La Soul Is Dead was one of my favourites, it had a ‘storybook’ inside the album enabling you to read along with some characters who appeared on five skits harshly criticising the record. One character ultimately throws the tape in the garbage while another who says he actually likes some of the record is heard getting punched. Back then the skits and storybook seemed wilfully combative to some people who had bought the record, especially in light of the previous album’s ‘gameshow’ spoken word segments. It was certainly a unique way of staring down any potential critics and jaded fans. What do you make of the storybook and those skits 30 years on?

And this was their answer

Posdnuos: We had no problem poking fun at ourselves. We thought we were doing great things, but we had no problem with saying, like: “OK, the kid didn’t like it, he threw it in the garbage.”
Maseo: On the second album, we learned the importance of controlling the narrative. I learned early on that a hit record can hurt your entire body of work if you let the industry control your narrative.

That's cool you sent in that question. I definitely used that exact Maseo quote in the book I wrote about De La. That idea of controlling the narrative seems key to understanding that album and a lot of other aspects of their career overall.

I’m about 70 pages into High and Rising and Moore does not process their music the same way I do

Every time he says something about the contrast between 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul Is Dead, my first reaction is “Why are you so wrong” followed by a self-check because we do not have the same context for them and there are probably more people out there aligned with his takes than mine. Like I might be the only person out there who heard 3 Feet when it came out and thought “eh this is veering towards corny” and went “FINALLY A MASTERPIECE” when Dead came out; that’s not the mainstream view as I understand it.

And it’s especially funny because the stylistic daylight between those two albums is much, much smaller than it seemed at the time

Just got back from the Lincoln Center show. Last year I saw two shows where they figured very prominently in both: the Roots, Jungle Brothers and Digable Planets show in Central Park where the JB's covered "Buddy" and later Common and Pete Rock's show at Webster Hall where Pos made a surprise appearance, capping his songs with "Me, Myself & I." Turns out, tonight's show was kind of like a mix of both.

Prince Paul was the opening DJ and he was great, actually my first time seeing him with De La Soul. Highlight was putting Prince & The Revolution's vocals from "1999" on top of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit."

When Pos and Maseo began their show, it looked like Pos would handle all the verses, and I was a little concerned because he actually sounded a little hoarse, as if he was recovering from a cold. Luckily, not only did his voice seem to improve, there were quite a few guests: Jungle Brothers came in, then Talib Kweli came in and stayed on for the rest of the show, and later Pete Rock came in and joined in on a few numbers, and Prince Paul even came back for a brief bit.

Lots of fun. Towards the end, some moving tributes to Dave (who was already being acknowledged throughout the show) and Maseo closed out the evening by telling everyone it's still difficult for them to do these shows as it feels like being an amputee, so he was very appreciative of the audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8YtHknhP7Q

Heard "Me, Myself & I" in a Target ad. I wonder if it was the original, rerecording, who got paid, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zylN5pdtY-8

new De La Soul record on Nov 21 and new video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9N994FmnxU

the album is v strong

oooh I dig the single, hoping this is good

Everyone listen to the new one! It’s dope!

didn't even know this was coming out today but I happen to be wearing my De La soul is dead tshirt

i really liked this album. pos is in top form, with some reveries that almost approach "i am i be" levels. my faves are the title track, the premier track ("en eff" w/ black thought), the q-tip track ("day in the sun"), and the bilal track near the end. the final stretch of the album, starting with "en eff," is incredibly strong.

Packing the album with guests makes sense, given the loss of 50% of your vocalists*, but it consistently feels like a hangout / block party with a bunch of pals swinging by, not cynical, calculated, or coping

And Mase stepping up as sideman on the other tracks works pretty well, acting like a little Greek chorus for Pos at times in an enhancement of his previous commentary cameos

*also nothing new for them obv

The way they bring up Dave's absence in that first skit is clever and heartbreaking. And then ending with a song that he produced, with just him rapping in a looser style is really something

Some of this is the remnants of the Pete Rock/Premier album they announced years ago and never finished, but they did a good job stringing it together into something new

The way they bring up Dave's absence in that first skit is clever and heartbreaking.

Absolutely. Choked up the first time I heard it. Giancarlo was in the audience at their Royal Albert Hall show in April 23, a coupla months after Dave passed. Pos spotted him from the stage and they had a brief reconnection; I got the impression they didn't know he'd be there.

UDONTSTOP slays me, especially that line about if they stop, Dave stops. Pos told me when I interviewed them last year that that's what Dave's family told them, re: whether they should continue after he passed: if De La Soul stops, then Dave stops, and that's (one of the reasons) why they're carrying on. It's a really strong LP, it gets super heartbreaking towards the end, it manages to balance the profound and the pop so keenly, as they always did. I could even imagine subsequent albums, sans Dave, working, as long as they stay in this honest, vulnerable place, and invite their friends and contemporaries to the table. Make DLS a generational thing, rather than a group. It's not quite as fine a post-bereavement late-period masterpiece as Than U 4 Your Service, but it's such a rewarding, uplifting listen.

Since you bring up Thank You for Your Service, I was gonna say this album reminds me so much of that one. Lot of similarities and both are quality

Kinda hope DLS continue to explore the kind of mid/late-life career that Tribe album hinted at. Also kinda wish Q-Tip would make another/more solo LPs, as his production on the LL Cool J album from last year just absolutely killed, and in the end I just wish he'd been the guy rhyming over those beats (sorry LL).

okay yeah this is something much more than a usual "stitch together scrap leftover verses with a bunch of guest star and new beats" posthumous hip hop album

that first sketch was amazing, started out so playful, very reminiscent of 3 Feet High and then the gut punch at the end

"sunny storms" is a such a great beat, very cool to see premier stepping out of his usual formula for something that actually fits de la soul

What a delight that y'all like it. I forgot this dropped on Friday, correcting this error now.

There are lots of bits on this that wouldn't feel out of place on the early albums. "Will Be" even sounds like a DLSID outtake.

yea i don't think it's a career highlight like 'we got it from here' was for tribe, but it's good enough to make that album a non-ridiculous comparison

the final stretch of the album, starting with "en eff," is incredibly strong.

otm, those six and "Run It Back" are my favorites. title track is so good, I figured the sample was some 70s rock song but didn't realize it was THAT song lol

"Will Be" has an almost "Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday" vibe, wish it were longer

yea i don't think it's a career highlight like 'we got it from here' was for tribe, but it's good enough to make that album a non-ridiculous comparison

there is also the fact they were both released after one of the three founding members passed away

and released in November after Election Day.

anyway this thing is fire, immediately one of my 2025's best.

Maseo currently playing records on TikTok

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPHThPvEP8h9F-Bo19Q/

loving this album.

De La Soul on NPR Tiny Desk went up today, it’s so good you guys

and repping Dave w the mic & the nameplate & mase’s shirt <3 <3 ;_;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AVYDHTOixU

yes very good, thank you for sharing!

remember when de la was having licensing issues and so posted all of their music for free a few years back? and there was so much activity their download spot got deactivated? yeah, i remember thar too! it was an exciting time to be a fan, so i purchased extra juice on my dropbox so there could be an active link for folks here to grab some golden era classics. even with that, the link saw too much activity and i was charged extra on my account. i didn't care, i'm glad folks here got access; everyone needs to hear that stuff at least once imo. the rub was not when none of you said thank you (and honestly why would you? it was just a random dropbox link), but when i was later accused of being racist while mourning dave's passing in earnest.

you probably could have just linked the Russian bootleg site that they’d downloaded the mp3s from tbf

Last year's album, I'm happy to report, still rips.

curious if anyone's got it on vinyl, heard the pressing quality was not so good, but there are like 6 different variants out there

Discogs reviews suggest the yellow pressing is bad, others are better. But holding off till I hear more info. Album itself is killer, looking forward to owning it tbh.

I love this album, one of their three best.

Yeah, it's too bad this seemed to get mostly ignored last year.

I got the blue pressing and it sounds fine, not great. But what a fantastic album. The title track goes so hard in the wake of bereavement and asks all the right questions. Ending on a Dave track is even more of a gut-punch than Giancarlo Esposito's repeated call of "Dave? Dave? Dave?" in the opening skit.

Hopefully more people will catch up to it. I actually went to the album launch in their pop-up shop and it was crazy how many fans tried to get in - you'd think that would reflect bigger attention later on, but I just checked the yearendlists site and they only had four mentions, three of which were in the bottom echelons of said lists:

#8 The 25 Best Albums of 2025: The Ringer
#39 Top 50 Albums of 2025: Anthony Fantano: The Needle Drop
#40 The 50 Best Albums of 2025: Complex
#51 Top 55 Albums of 2025: Brooklyn Vegan

Pete Rock even discussed his contributions in his talk last year, and he was very proud of what De La Soul did with it.