Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some Grown Man "ish", December 27, 2001
When De la drops an album I'm gonna cop it. They've earned that much. Even if I ain't quite feeling it on the first few spins, first few months even, at some point it's gonna hit me. It's inevitable with these guys. This album is no exception. It's at once introspective, reverential, playful, raunchy, and definitely intelligent. In fact, as I crossed into my 30's this year it stands to reason that De La is probably one of the few groups out there who aren't afraid to act their age. I was touched by "Am I Worth it to You" and felt like "Trying People" was speaking directly to a brotha. Now I'm not knocking certain rappers who cater to the youth market with "money, hoes, & clothes" (I can't front, I want 'em too). However, when it comes to saying what's really on a thirty something black man's noggin' and doing so without getting too self-righteous, De La's always been on point. "Baby Phat" gives a bouncing and long overdue shout to the thickness out there and "Pawn Star", Slick Rick on "What We Do", and B-Real on "Peer Pressure" keep the flow light but still on point. What gets slept on with these guys also is their production skills. "Simply Having"'s Paul McCartney sample is infectious and genius and "The Sauce" is butta. But I can't say enough about the thoughtful and cleverness of the lyrics. All in all, they are just professionals. If you've slept on the Soul over the years, just go back and get the entire catalog...you'll eventually grow into it.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hip-hop for truly mature audiences only., April 20, 2005
I find that the main things about "getting" De La Soul's brand of hip-hop are:
1. They are cerebral rappers, forcing you to thorougly chew their lyrics before mental-digestion in order to understand their perspective.
2. At the time of this writing, they are well into their 30s (Pos was born "Out of the heavens August one-seven, sixty-nine... ") and have been in the game for 16 years, almost unheard of today (outside of LL, Dr. Dre, Snoop, and a few others, who even comes close).
Accordingly, they tend to rhyme about things that their peers can relate to, especially if said peers are trying to "make it" in life. Unfortunately for De La - like Dave says in Bionix - they have had to "get on that ol' bulls--t" to get the later generations used to their flow.
My take? This is one of their better efforts, though it does not crack the the top three for me*. I won't go into detail about the tracks, except to say that I regard "Held Down" and "Tryin' People" as two of the finest songs I've heard recently. Many won't get the cleverness of "Peer Pressure", or the satire of the (overly?) explicit "Pawn Star", and will criticize the R&B-tainted "Special", but you can't please all the people all the time.
Bottom line: if you fit the demographic, or don't but appreciate the music of those that do, then pick up the CD. The more you listen, the more you will appreciate it.
* My preference:
1. "De La Soul Is Dead": outstanding ode to how De La Soul as everyone knew them (DaISY Age) was no more; clever, witty, though some of the skits went over the heads of those outside of the NY tri-state area, or those that don't know of De La's background (i.e., they used to work at Burger King... )
2. "Buhloone Mind State": severly under-rated recording that comments on what's wrong in the hip-hop industry; sadly, still applicable today. So on-point, that Tommy Boy didn't know how to promote it! ("It might blow-up but it won't go 'pop'")
3. "Three Feet High & Rising": only rated number three because I don't play it as much anymore; the first, the innovative, the album some people are STILL trying to understand after 16 years.
4. "AOI: Bionix, Part 2"
5. "Stakes Is High" - the first post-Prince Paul production, where De La tries re-establish themselves; weak in spots, but overall quite good, especially cameos from Common & Mos Def.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best, not the worst, December 9, 2001
Whenever De La Soul releases an album it will always be compared to 3 Feet High & De La Soul Is Dead. Those were 2 of the greatest albums ever made and after that De La never really got that magic back. Buhloone had its moments (though it was a little on the short side) and Stakes Is High was solid. But there was always something missing. Then they dropped Mosaic Thump and (while still pretty good) it was their worst album yet.As for Bionix, well it's an improvement over Mosaic. While Mosaic didn't have any great songs, besides Foolin', Bionix has a couple with Trying, Held Down, and Bionix. Also through the first 12 tracks there isn't a bad song among the group (well a couple actually are barely above that level). However the next two (Pawn Star and What We Do) are definite songs to skip. Another thing is that the skits on this album just didn't make much sense and only It's American was entertaining. So I give this album 3 and a half stars and rate it ahead of Mosaic Thump while behind their first 4 albums.
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