In 1989 the trio of Posdnuos, Trugoy, Maseo came together as De La Soul to release their debut album. It found the group moving Hip Hop in a new direction as with backing from Stetsasonic’s Prince Paul, they chose to support a then underground movement to bring positivity back to the genre using ways which got them a reputation for putting forth ‘Hippy’ ideals.
1. "Intro"
2. "The Magic Number"
Getting the album going properly, you hear that they go straight into one of the key singles from the album, and I have to say that despite the fact it was one of the most popular cuts from it, it simply wasn’t something I felt anything for as you see that they do one where they try to show some degree of contrast to what yo hear elsewhere with other Hip Hop acts by doing a whole track dedicated to the number three, but I just wasn’t getting it. I did however feel the jazzy production which backed them.
**Three Stars**
3. "Change in Speak" (Lude)
4. "Cool Breeze on the Rocks” (Lude)
5. "Can U Keep a Secret" (Lude)
6. "Jenifa Taught Me"
I have to say that although this one initially seems to be something quite lively, but it doesn’t really come to that much once you have got a feel
for it as it stays on the same sort of level once it has got some sort of direction > it displays how modern sounds of the time, such as New Jack Swing have influenced what they do, but it just doesn’t do enough to be really excited about.
**Three Stars**
7. "Ghetto Thang"
Here I felt as though you got a bit of a lift from this one as you see that as they ride some funky work and also use James Brown’s “Funk Drummer” synth to drive this song as they do a track on the album to have them attempting to change people’s perceptions upon how they see many cultural things which they assume to fit in with life,. But in actual fact are put in place to bring people down.
**Four Stars**
8. "Transmitting Live From Mars” (Lude)
9. "Eye Know"
If you were into “The Magic Number”, then I expect that this is one for you, but I saw it as a bit of a step up upon that one as it sees them doing things a little more lively and accessible to Hip Hop fans with something which does use alternative sources for its samples, but still comes with something fresh for all to get down to.
10. "Take It Off" (Lude)
11. "A Little Bit of Soap” (Lude)
12. "Tread Water"
As the title indicates, this one has them doing something which really shows just how far they differ from the kind of thing which you would have typically got from a Hip Hop track of its time, and t has them all making as much effort as they can to really put across the eccentricity of their work, and especially in what you get here.
**Four Stars**
13. "Potholes in My Lawn"
This is a track on the album which finds them getting down to some funky Hip Hop which sounds to as if it has them taking form the work of A Tribe Called Quest (one of few others to drop albums of this kind before them) as they rhyme in a much harder way in order to show that they can still do the same as others in the Hip Hop world, without it preventing it from doing something very new. The use work from Parliament’s debut album, “Osmium” in this one and it just tops it off.
**Five Stars**
14. "Say No Go"
This is a fresh track on the album and I felt that the choice in samples was a large influence upon my enjoyment of it all as you discover that they take from various sources on this one to get them going as they use classic Rock,, Funk and early eighties Hip Hop as they do a track against drug use. It is one which improves with time and I can’t see why you wouldn’t enjoy it.
**Four Stars**
15. "Do as De La Does” (Lude)
16. "Plug Tunin'”
This is a strange track on the album as it is one of the tracks which I can’t say I really enjoyed, but there’s something about it which prevents you from hating on t as they do a low-paced tune which has them floating through it and just showing that they have some unique opinions, and are able to express it all in jus t a original manner.
**Three Stars**
17. "De La Orgee” (Lude)
18. "Buddy"
This was one of the singles from the album, and unlike the others which you got from it, this one was really for those who rally knew what the Jazz Rap movement was about as you see that they do one where they collaborate with Jungle Brothers as well as A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip to show what all the best acts from this filed can do when bringing their unique ways together.
***Five Stars**
19. "Description” (Lude)
20. "Me Myself and I"
This was perhaps their most well-known track (especially for this album) and it finds them doing a track which really stands out on the album as a result, and I feel that this is also down to the fact that they brought out some of the best samples to back them as they do a funky jam to get you into the groove as they a track which shows just how innocent their raps were and what a contrast they managed to create as a result.
**Five Stars**
21. "This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era"
Off that monster tune on the album, you have them choosing to keep the energy levels high on this track, and I felt that taking on some classic Old School Hip Hop work was where they needed to go to in order to bring out the last bits of the high-quality material of their work, and you see that they straight kill it for doing this as a result by doing something which reflects which was done in those times.
**Five Stars**
22. "I Can Do Anything” (Outro)
I have to say that I was disappointed by this album as I expect, after hearing their second album first, that this would be just as strong as it was the record which broke them into the music world, but in fact there were only really a few big tunes on the album and many poor ones padding it all out, this, with the inclusion of excessive interludes and skits means that the better ones stand out, but it takes much longer to get to them.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
De La's debut represented a new path for hip-hop, a reaction to conventions that had ... more
turned into clichés. It was friendly and playful enough to cross over to a pop audience (thanks to Prince Paul's production, which found the funk hiding inside Steely ...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
De La's debut represented a new path for hip-hop, a reaction to conventions that had ... more
turned into clichés. It was friendly and playful enough to cross over to a pop audience (thanks to Prince Paul's production, which found the funk hiding inside Steely ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Fun, Energetic, Abstract Hip-Hop; Good Lyrics; Prince Paul's Production; Actual Good Skits, No Bad Songs Disadvantages: A few TOOOO Many Skits, Not a Classic like many would believe
Advantages: Fun, Energetic, Abstract Hip-Hop; Good Lyrics; Prince Paul's Production; Actual Good Skits, No Bad Songs Disadvantages: A few TOOOO Many Skits, Not a Classic like many would believe
Advantages: Its De La Soul, what else needs to be said? Disadvantages: Unfortunately in this age, it doesnt have the commerial appeal to set the charts alight
Jul 16th, 2009
exceptional by (20%):
very helpful by (80%):
