They shouldn’t have changed the style of the chorus at the end and Dres should’ve followed Posdnuos/Trugoy’s flow/echoes in his verse. Otherwise everything about this song, from host Mike G’s introduction to the random shoutouts at the end, is just right. Kudos to Prince Paul for the funky beat and quirky “ball” samples.
my rating : 4 of 5
1991
Dissing yourself is an effective way to prevent other people from dissing you. It’s called self-deprecation and De La Soul takes it to the extreme for what might be hip-hop’s first critic-proof album. De La Soul Is Dead utilizes skits to tell the story of three thugs, led by a guy named Hemroid, who decide to give their new tape a listen after stealing it from a kid they just beat up. They’re listening as you are, in real time, stopping the cassette to state their opinions between tracks.
It’s a clever concept; check for read-along dialogue and comic illustrations in the featured booklet; one that loses its ironic charm if the album is indeed “garbage”. Thus the rap trio, along with producer Prince Paul, do everything in their creative power to make it match the qualitative level of their Rising debut. That it does. The two projects are actually quite similar; twenty-something tracks of mostly good songs with a quirky assortment of samples and bits sprinkled about.
my rating : 4 of 5
1991
Ghetto Thang sounds damn good when the bass loop plays out in full with its accommodating whine synth. When it drops out, as during the title breaks, the quality plummets. The question is whether or not that happens often enough to ruin the song completely.
The refrain lasting just four bars as opposed to the usual eight, with one exception at the end, makes it more forgivable than it otherwise would’ve been. Still it’s an annoying distraction on a song the rappers (Trugoy/Posdnuos) should’ve rapped straight thru.
my rating : 3 of 5
1989
1991
1991
1991
1991
2021
1989
3 Feet High And Rising is the name of a quiz show on which quirky contestants try to answer ridiculous questions for an unnamed prize. It’s a silly and seemingly irrelevant album concept, but it’s funny and, listening to the set, it’s obvious all De La Soul want to do is have fun.
The matter-of-fact style of their raps, which sometimes sound more like they’re reading aloud to small children, are amusing, but of the twenty-something tracks on the album, only about half are songs. The others are an anything-but-garden variety of short bits and interludes.
my rating : 4 of 5
1989
Don’t be fooled by the title. KRS-One, The Teacha, is still all about Edutainment, but Edutainment doesn’t sell well. The record-buying masses want Sex And Violence, so he provides just that for this newest BDP set.
On Build And Destroy, he responds to the philosophical criticisms of what seems to be Brother J from X Clan by telling him he’ll get “fucked up”. 13 And Good is about sexing, thus statutory raping, a 13-year-old girl.
The album is raw and sloppy, almost amateurish, in comparison to the other Boogie Down productions; I would’ve also put the “rock-and-roll” bit at the beginning of the title song; but it’s still fresh… “for 1992, you suckas.”
my rating : 4 of 5
1992
1992