Customer Reviews

Buhloone Mind State

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I ask most hip hop heads what their favorite De La album is I almost always get "3 Ft..." as a response. Occasionally, I'll meet someone who is well-schooled who goes for "De La is Dead." Why has this album been so slept on? This is hands down their best record, in my opinion, and an artistic peak for both De La and Prince Paul. This album makes my top ten hip hop albums of all time list with a bullet. "Area", "I Am I Be", "Eyepatch", "Breakadawn", and of course "Ego Trippin'". Come on people, this album is a masterpiece. I think part of the problem is that the peak tracks come in the latter half of the record so it takes a thourough listen to really absorb its brilliance. And in all fariness it may be a simple matter of taste. The first four De La albums are all classics, but the production and rhymes on this one cannot be topped. At this point Native Tongues were on the outs and you can hear subtle references to this internal dispute throughout the album. I think this rift caused De La to get more introspective on this record and focus more on what they could offer as an individual entity. The result is the peak of the famed De La Prince Paul calloborations and the end of an era for De La Soul. Prince Paul went all out on this one sampling all kinds of crazy sh**t, like old Jeffeson Starship records. This album also stands as a lasting conceptual crtique of hip hoppers gettin' bigheaded when they get famous. "It might blow up, but it won't go pop.." In one shot De La made every egomaniac rapper look like a complete fool. I would highly recommend this album to anyone, even if you don't usually like hip hop.

De La would have taken hip hop into a direction of more complex rhymes and provoking thought, if hip hop fans could have been more turned on to this disc. Instead hip hop plateau'd and today is not significantly better than it was 10 or even 15 years ago. When compared to hip hop today, Buhloone Mindstate is on another level. Pos puts together rhymes that are unbelievable. Dove and Mace are right there with him and the result is the best rhyme flow I've ever heard. "Breakadown" and "I Am I Be" are amazing. "3 Days Later", "En Focus", "Patti Duke", "Eye Patch", "Area", etc. are all tight. "Long Island Wildin" is hilarious. The disc is flat if you just pop it in and don't really pay attention. But when you do listen closely, the tracks keep getting better and better and you hear exactly how amazing De La is. The disc has been underrated and overlooked. To me, it's the best, the apex of hip hop music.

I was watching some teevee earlier this afternoon, something I rarely do ...all of a sudden multiple Delasoulians pop up in the "Breakadawn" video. Pulled out the cd and blew the dust off, popped it in the deck.......set adrift on memory bliss. I love De La. They're not all up in ya face with... man I've lost all will to finish this review. I think I'll just go stop someone in the street and tell them about De La Soul. It's a beautiful day people, turn off your damn computers. :-) seeeeeeeeeeeya

Buhloone Mind State is De La's most creative and versatile work. To me, this record plays a large role in defining underground hip-hop in retrospect. It includes mellow, brilliant elements of jazz with borrowed ideas from jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie (kids playing in the background, traditional playground/summer sounds). The beats are refreshing, original and upbeat. The lyrics are thoughtful and become instantly memorable. De La Soul is an original, creative, and talented group, and they never fail to produce matching records. Buy this album. If you lose it, buy it again. This IS their most dazzling work

Pppl are always quick to mention '3 feet high and rising' and 'de la soul is dead' as hip hop classics, and they are definately right...But somehow this album gets overlooked...In my opinion its their most cohesive and consistent album....Prince Paul produced some classic joints on this album..."breakadawn" and "i am i be" are dope cuts...While "ego trippin' part 2" might be one of the best rap singles ever....

Get this album, u wont be disappointed

a few years ago i let my friend hold this album for a few days so that he he could understand the sudden jolt of happiness that I felt after buying mind state.My friend was the type who only listened to MOP, Mobb Deep,you understand, hardcore hip hop. this album completely changed this dude...dela has this power over people, three feet high and rising had a similar effect on me. If you want to be moved by hip hop get this joint, it might change your out look on the genre

This is my second favorite album that I have heard from De La Soul(Did not here Stakes are High yet)I like it because it is the closest they ever got to there debut and it is lighthearted and very fun through out the entire LP. I like De La more when they are there lighthearted Mr.Alligator and squirrel type of raps. I would give this album a 5 Mic rating becuase of the reasons as I said.This album compliments 3 Feet High and Rising

this album is nice. when i bought it in 93 it was ok but i really got into this albulm about 6 years later. sometimes with de la it happens like that. you have to get it to sit back and digest it and then you will understand what i mean.

To sum it up, this is the trippiest, illest, jazziest collage of hip-hop genius ever put to record. Throw on the headphones at 3AM and get lost in the mix....this treats the true heads correct.

This is the height of De La Soul. Not as goofy (but still as much fun) as 3 Feet or ...is Dead, this is the last record by the group to explore new territory. It strikes a balance between the bohemian elements of their early albums, and a certain maturity. It's the last time out that De La tried anything new and attempted to combine elements of non Hip Hop music (with heavy jazz elements, and off the wall snippets like the inclusion of a crew of Japanese MC's.) This record is also a treat because it's their last with Prince Paul (a split that was their biggest mistake...) The production is flawless, and eclectic. The only disappointment is that they couldn't follow this brilliant record with any more original material. The previously mentioned quote "I might blow up, but I won't go Pop," and Pos's line "**** bein hard Posdnous is complicated" both seem to have been thrown out the window on later records - especially the AOI series.