Customer Reviews

IS DEAD CD UK BIG LIFE 1991

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here it is- the album that got me into hip hop, summer of '94. This album has it all- thematic flow, classic rhymes, unbelievable (as in you will not believe it) production (damn it's dense, almost Paul's Boutique dense), smart-ass silly skits, and an unerring ear for samples and references... It Showcases Prince Paul at the height of his abilities. This is one of those albums that knocks you over.

My second semester in college I even used the "Hey, How ya doin, sorry ya can't get through" line as my answering machine message... yeah, well, it seemed clever at the time...

As an angry little punk rock kid from the early nineties, I possessed an deep-seated knee-jerk twinge of 'uhg.' to hip hop in general- This album changed that. I still have the tape that I *aherm* 'borrowed' from my girlfriend that summer. Before I was into KRS-ONE, before I could tell the 'funky drummer' beat from the 'Sing a Simple Song' beat, before Paul's Boutique, before ATCQ, before Wu-Tang and Digable Planets and all my indie hip hop faves from the college years, before all of them there is De La Soul is Dead.

I'm sure that one day I'll be old and senile, unable to recall my grandchildren's names correctly, and under my breath I'll be wheezing the back and forth insults/rhymes from "Biddies," and the "Here in frogland, we always eat our porridge cuz it keeps us frogs real peaceful like," from "Peas Porridge."

Classic golden age hip hop. But it remains to be said that De La (unlike everyone else) have not put out one lame album. Not ONE. Damn.

No album in any genre really sounds like DE LA SOUL IS DEAD, or even WORKS like it (mmmaybe THE WHO SELL OUT is a good comparison)...This is the first and possibly the ONLY hip hop album to present itself not as a collection of songs/singles but as a complete 70-plus-minute work. In other words: Not every song on this album is exactly a "hit," and in fact some of them really only stand in the context of the complete album...but those tracks ("Johnny", "Who Do You Worship?") flesh the catchier songs out into what reads, much as I hate to use the term, as a "concept album" of the highest order.

And let's not ignore the incredible "singles" (not all of them released as such, but idenitfiably different from the skit-type tracks) like "Pass the Peas," "Ring Ring," "A Roller Skating Jam named Saturdays" and the INCREDIBLE game of dozens that makes up "Bitties in the BK Lounge." Prince Paul and Maseo produced the first hip hop you could HUM along to, and paved the way for the introduction of actual melody into hip hop.

Of course, De La Soul didn't make too much money off this masterpiece. Pop is like that. I've always looked at this as the gem that THE LOW END THEORY is seen as...no dissing Tribe, but De La's ambition seems to alienate a fanbase who just want a solid collection of singles (ala Tribe)...

When I've DJ'ed and put in anything off this album, I get "WOW! " responses from kids who've slept on this record. Don't let yourself be among the ranks of the ignorant. This is an essential album, not only for hip hop heads, but for fans of popular music. Almost ten years (!) later it sounds as uniquely challenging as it did when it dropped. Hip hop still hasn't caught up.

De La Soul is Dead is one of the most quirky albums you'll ever hear. While most people credit it as being the album that started the skit movement, De la's underlying message is the most critical element to come from this album. First off, the beats on this album are tight. De La has never be a group to bowl you over with their lyrical content, but their lyrics and message are more than satisfy your cravings for verbal content. On "Millie pulled a pistol on Santa" Plug's 1 and 2 tell the story of a girl who is sexually abused by her father. The beat here is phat and if you were down with the Soul in 1991, then you probably heard the vintage remix. "Hey hey Ring Ring" is the album's jewel, as De la tells the toils of being in the record business and having the phone ring off the hook. Not to be outdone is "Fanatics of the B Word" which features Dres of the Black Sheep. The beat is symphonic and the chorus will have you wondering why it took you 8 years to purchase the album. The skits on this album, working in conjunction with the tracks convey the message that what De La did on the first album will not work in the future, hence the title. The first album boasted songs of peace and unity amongst a growing hip hop nation. There was no speaking of shooting the next man or making sexual advances at the neighbor's 15 year old daughter. It was just an album with 3 teenagers expressing their affinity towards hip-hop. During the skits De La's album bounces around amoungst a group of kids. If the voices sound familiar one of them is Mr. Lawnge (long) of Black sheep and P A Mase (Plug 3). As the tape bounces around The kids critique the album (for the most part dissing it). At the end of the album the kids throw the tape in the garbage where they initially found it. If you don't have this album I would say that on a scale of 1-10 on the must-have-list its an 8.5. De La was very prophetic on this album, because if you follow hip hop then you know that very rarely do you get the feeling that artists make records because they enjoy the music. They may enjoy shooting video's or the money or the women, but they don't enjoy sitting down crafting lyrical themes, content, and records. Ironically enough, even though De La is "Dead", it was this realization of the change in hip-hop that helped De La stay De La. They never changed their formula for success and as a result they continue to thrive and remain successful.

This is seriously a tough album to listen to from start to finish without feeling (at various times) like throwing something at the CD player, hugging it or almost anything in between. I actually wound up buying this (after a long time of tracking them down) on the same day as "3 Feet High And Rising", all I can say is "What A Contrast!!".

Of course most of you will recognise at least one song from this masterpiece, the repetitive and (to the generation above mine) ANNOYING "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" and the famous answering machine chorus "Hey howya doin' sorry you can't get through/Why don't you leave your name and your number and I'll get back to you". But that's not where it ends.

It's hard to play favorites with this one, all the tracks are equally good. If I had to name a second-best track on the album, I'd have to say "Roller Skating Jam Called Saturdays" purely for its good, straightforward fun(k).

In short, not an album for everyone's tastes, but one which is worth buying - even if just to have in your collection and look intelligent.

Another fun hip hop album, with outstanding production courtesy of Prince Paul. His use of odd and fun samples keeps this album interesting. This album consists of many fun songs and skits. It was released in 1991 and it pokes fun at alot of things that were going on in that time. Most of y'all are probably too young to remember. They have a song making fun of house music "Kicked Out The House", a song making fun of being hardcore "Who Do U Worship?" A song about a crackhead brother "My Brother's A Basehead" and a reoccuring mentioning of a girl who works at Burger King. haha. The album's skits between songs play along as if it was a story book where it beeps and you turn the page. Such a fun album. Recommended for anybody with a good sense of humor.

This deliberately inaccessible work of genius is the most brilliant work the hip-hop nation has ever produced. While other groups have recieved accolades for their bombast (P. E.), vulgar but astounding wordplay (Wu-Tang) and sheer wierdness (Busta Rhymes), De La Soul are comfortable and confident enough to wallow in excess and make it art. ".....Dead" almost seems like a deliberate attempt to alienate fans of their debut and cast off the whole 'hippie' tag (hence the pot of broken daisies on the cover) which never suited them anyway. "Millie Pulled a Pistol On Santa" is easily the best thing they've ever done and the skits that link these tracks manage a rare feat, they're actually FUNNY and give the album a consistent flow. Alternately mean-spirited, humorous, troubling and joyous, this second album showed that some artists are not only too smart to fall for that old 'sophomore jinx', but they can also blow it clean into the cosmos.

The De Las have always been innovative and De La Soul Is Dead is another ahead-of-their-time work. So when was this jam originally released? 1991, right? (Man, that is hard to believe...) If this was released today for the first time it would still sound as fresh and clever as it did back then.

As Run-DMC were innovators, fusing phat rock jams and loops with rap, the De Las are the ones who brought skits, comic banter and what comes off as stuff we just happen to overhear in the studio (as if it were unplanned) into many recordings we hear today. Funny as hell is the running bit about the ficticious radio station WRMS.

But besides these little side elements (which should not be overlooked or under estimated in their value to this whole production) these artists find some really tasty textures to sample and build their tracks. I've read comments that their lyrics were not outstanding. Well, this is the disc that refutes that argument.

"My Brother's A Basehead", "Millie Pulled A Pistol on Santa" cut to the chase and tell powerful stories. "Let, Let Me In"'s use of television audio tracks remind me of Big Audio Dynamite but with more of a funk spin than BAD's rock vibe.

What makes this a standout? The variety of styles, flow, textures and their smart sarcastic digs at Arsenio Who, and the hardcore circle's innability to get (or accept) De La Soul, and their funky dig at house. ("In no way are we trying to disrespect any sort of house or club music--but we're just glad we're not doing it. :::snicker:::") De La Soul is Dead is lush, clever, and an essential recording.

Yeah, Puffy, you really ain't got nuthin' on these boys. This disc will still rock most people's speakers long after those Puffy produced discs have faded from memory.

I'm a De La fan (I can't wait until their new joint comes out) and I bought this CD because I never listened to it before. Man, this CD is unbelievable. Considering the time it was made, it is creative, unpredictable, and twisted. It is a lot more cynical than 3 ft high and ironic at that (the kids on the CD hate it as they listen, similar to what happened when it was released). De La never conforms to hip-hop's current trends and is one of the true underground groups out there. When "Artofficial Intelligence" comes out, watch out, Puff Daddy!

Back in 1989, a new tidal wave of music was cascading along the shores. The sounds of the Native Tongues were staking their claim as alternative rap pioneers. The world of hip hop would never be the same after "3 Feet High and Rising" which is considered by many as the greatest hip hop album to ever drop. However, being taunted by people as the hippies of hip hop, De La did something artisticly bold. Plagued by labels, due to their visual of flowers on "3 Feet High's" cover art, De La Soul killed their 'pyschadelic image' by illustrating a pot of dead daisies on their sophomore effort. Suddenly, "De La Soul Is Dead" showed a edgier dark side that flew over heads of the buying public and disallowed critics to really put a finger on it.

"De La Soul Is Dead" was a record attacking ignorance and gangsta posturing. The record starts off with a pack of goons who roughs up a young kid with a copy of the De La Soul tape and then they pop the tape in and harshly criticize each song at certain intervals. At the end of the record they throw the tape in the garbage stating, "no guns, no cursing; that's what rap music is all about...RIGHT". Although the album contains little profanity the message is loud and clear on the hardcore parody of "Afro Connections At The Hi 5". This is an underappreciated gem. De La calls in to question of all the acts who changed their sound to be grittier claiming they, "fell the FU-- OFF". Posdunous mockingly says, "now I hold my crotch because I'm top notch".

The album is not nearly enjoyable without the man behind the boards. Prince Paul is the mad scientist of hip hop, orchestrating a collage of samples that has yet to be duplicated. The albums first song "Oodles of O's" (a highlight on a classic album) has a dischordant loop that is endlessly catchy. The loopy bassline is like the hook and your attention is the bait and you can't help but get hooked and nod your head to this. "Peas Porridge" ranks amongst Prince Pauls best beats as De La Soul talks in witty double speak. Again, the song is broken up by people who trash De La Souls reputation. Maseo claims, "why do people think just because we speak peace we can't blow no joints" (I-I-I Don't Know). The most lighthearted jam has to be the single "Roller Skating Jam Called Saturday" which had a friend of mine mezmerized recently (especially with the 'Greece' sample thrown in the middle of the song)! "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" was actually an unlikely choice for the lead single. The upbeat production seemed cheery enough but the groups frustration with being burdened around third-rate demos was harsh to say the least. It is an incredibly playful song which got the group in copyright troubles. "Pass The Plugs" had many people flocking to YouTube to check out the hype around the Posdunous line, "Arsenio dissed us but the crowd kept clappin' when Arsenio dissed them before their performance on the show.

Prince Pauls beats and the lyrics from "De La Soul Is Dead" have been sampled over and over again. You will be amazed at all of the fragments and ideas that came from this. On top of that, the record contains the greatest album liner note ever. Maseo states, "To the Amittyville community: you are the ones who say when people like us get successful we never come back to contribute to our community. Well we came to you on so many occasions and, in so many words, you said 'f--- De La Soul" and now I'm saying "f--- you"! Fitting with the albums theme it is a statement on people who pigeon hole rap as stagnated music failing to realize that it evolves from the same epicenter of other genres. "De La Soul Is Dead" is a testament to silence all those critics who say rap is not music. Honestly, if rap artists today took half the risks that De La took then hip hop would be a much better place.

I remember when I first listened to this LP. I was utterly amased and blown away with its production, through-line and focus. Prince Paul crafted probably his best record with this album. "3 Ft" is a classic, but it lacked the focus this album delivered and the statement this LP made.

I've been listening to this album since I was 12 years old and I still listen to it. The Source, before they completly lost their creditability, gave this album "5 mics" and at the time a lot of people thought they were crazy. They were right though, a classic through and through.