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De La Soul Is Dead

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Chicago Tribune[2]
Christgau's Consumer Guide(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)(3-star Honorable Mention)[3]
Entertainment WeeklyC+[4]
Los Angeles Times[5]
Q[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
The Source5/5[9]

De La Soul Is Dead is De La Soul's second full-length album, which was released on May 13, 1991.[10] The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on 3 Feet High and Rising was highly praised by music critics. The album was one of the first to receive a five-mike rating in the Hip hop magazine The Source.[9] The album was also selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums in 1998.[11] The album's cover refers to the death of the "D.A.I.S.Y." (Da Inner Sound, Y'all) age, or a distancing from several cultures including hippies and the mainstream hip-hop.[1] It is considered among many as one of the best albums of the 1990s. Rolling Stone ranked the album at #87 on its list, and Pitchfork Media ranked it at #63.

Overview

De La Soul's first album, 3 Feet High and Rising, is widely regarded in the hip-hop community as a classic, leaving this, the follow-up, something of a poisoned chalice. The album's title is in reaction to the group being labeled hippies following its debut release. The album cover, a broken pot of daisies, signals the end of the D.A.I.S.Y. Age. In an attempt to shake this label off, De La Soul's second album is significantly edgier than its first release. Despite the fact that it clearly did not want to be labeled as hippies, the group also did not want to be labeled hardcore. The album's 13th track, "Afro Connections at a Hi-5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)," is an ironic attack directed at the emerging gangsta movement of the early 1990s.

The album features a series of separate, ongoing skits. The intro to the album features Jeff, a teenaged character who was not played by Chi Ali as often thought, who was introduced in the B-sides to "Eye Know" and "Me Myself and I": "Brain Washed Follower," "The Mack Daddy on the Left," and the rare "Double Huey Skit" (all are featured on the Limited Edition Bonus CD of the 2001 3 Feet High and Rising remaster). In a parody of old children's book-and-record read-along sets, Jeff finds a cassette tape copy of a De La Soul album in the garbage. Bullies appear, beat up Jeff, and steal the tape. Ensuing skits feature these bullies harshly criticizing the songs on the album. Mista Lawnge of Black Sheep provides the voice of the lead antagonist, while P.A. Pasemaster Mase voices the other bully who gets ridiculed and abused by Lawnge for his admiration of the album. Throughout the skits, the sound of the signal that lets the reader know that it's time to turn the page is heard. In the end, they throw the tape back in the trash, exclaiming, "De La Soul is dead." The album also introduces a fictional radio station called WRMS that plays nothing but De La Soul music.

The lyrics are again heavily praised for their intelligence and seamless infusion with almost endless references to pop culture. The album's strength further stems from the production of Prince Paul.

The song "Pass the Plugs" features the lyrics "Arsenio dissed us but the crowd kept clapping." This refers to the group performing on The Arsenio Hall Show, where Arsenio Hall introduced them as "the hippies of hip-hop." The group then performed "Me Myself and I," which explicitly states that they are not hippies. The credits for the show also began to run over the performance before the group was finished, contributing to the perceived lack of respect.

In 2008 the album was re released on vinyl. This version did not contain the CD bonus tracks.

Track listing

All tracks written by P. Huston, K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason; additional writers credited below.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"C. Johns, L. Farrow2:14
2."Oodles of O's"T. Waits3:31
3."Talkin' Bout Hey Love"S. Gainsbourg, S. Wonder, C. Paul, M. Broadmax2:27
4."Pease Porridge"A. Goodhart, A. Hoffman, H. Magidson, B. Birthright5:02
5."Skit 1" 0:25
6."Johnny's Dead AKA Vincent Mason (live from the BK Lounge)" 1:57
7."A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"" (featuring Q-Tip and Vinia Mojica)R. Matthews, J. Davis4:03
8."WRMS' Dedication to the Bitty"J. Sample0:46
9."Bitties in the BK Lounge"K. Nix, R. Isley, R. Isley, O.K. Isley5:40
10."Skit 2" 0:31
11."My Brother's a Basehead"C. Ballard Jr., R. Krieger4:20
12."Let, Let Me In"B. McCracken, L. Fulson, B. Birthright3:25
13."Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)" 4:02
14."Rap de Rap Show" 2:19
15."Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa"G. Clinton, G. Cook4:10
16."Who Do U Worship?" 1:59
17."Skit 3" 0:31
18."Kicked Out the House" 1:56
19."Pass the Plugs"E. Wright, W. Smith, J. Perry3:30
20."Not Over till the Fat Lady Plays the Demo"S. Gainsbourg, J.C. Vannier1:29
21."Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)"G. Skinner5:06
22."WRMS: Cat's in Control"J. Sample0:34
23."Skit 4" 0:12
24."Shwingalokate"K. McCord, G. Clinton, B. Nelson4:14
25."Fanatic of the B Word" (featuring Dres)M. Jones, D. Kinsey, A. Titus4:09
26."Keepin' the Faith"B. Marley, R. Temperton, M. Adams, S. Arrington, M. Hicks, T. Lockett, R. Turner, D. Webster, S. Young4:45
27."Skit 5" 0:32

Samples

The following is a list of songs and sound footage sampled in the songs on De La Soul Is Dead.

Intro

  • "Five Star Final" and "A Question of Honor" by Arthur Korb

Oodles of O's

Talkin' Bout Hey Love

Pease Porridge

  • "Black-Eyed Susan Brown" by Brother Bones
  • "Pease Porridge Hot" and "Finger Fun" by Harrell & Sharron Lucky
  • "Make It Funky" by James Brown

A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"

WRMS's Dedication to the Bitty

Bitties in the BK Lounge

Skit 2

My Brother's a Basehead

Let, Let Me In

Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of a Hoodlum)

Rap De Rap Show

  • "If It Don't Fit, Don't Force It" by Kellee Patterson

Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa

Who Do U Worship?

Skit 3

Pass the Plugs

Not Over Till the Fat Lady Plays the Demo

Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)

WRMS: Cat's in Control

Skit 4

Shwingalokate

Fanatic of the B-Word

Keepin' the Faith

Skit 5

References

  1. ^ a b Huey, Steve. "De La Soul Is Dead – De La Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  2. ^ Kot, Greg (May 16, 1991). "De La Soul De La Soul Is Dead (Tommy Boy)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  3. ^ Christgau, Robert. "De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  4. ^ Browne, David (May 24, 1991). "De La Soul Is Dead". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  5. ^ Gold, Jonathan (May 12, 1991). "Another Great Rap Hope Falters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  6. ^ "De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead". Q (209): 149. December 2003.
  7. ^ Poulson-Bryant, Scott (May 30, 1991). "De La Soul Is Dead". Rolling Stone (605). Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon & Schuster. pp. 224–25. ISBN 0-743-20169-8.
  9. ^ a b Atco (May 1991). "De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead". The Source (24). Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  10. ^ Hernandez, Victoria. "De La Soul Reflects On Da Inna Sound For 25th Anniversary Of "De La Soul Is Dead"". HipHopDX. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  11. ^ "The 100 Best Rap Albums". The Source #100. January 1998. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
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