Advantages: A few big tunes Disadvantages: Inconsistent
In 1989 the trio of Posdnuos, Trugoy, Maseo came together as DeLaSoul 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 ...
Advantages: Lots of bangers Disadvantages: Lots of interludes
of Grandmaster Flash's "Freedom", and with that possessing one of the best breaks of all-time, it's mad that they only took a couple of Melle Mel adlibs as they rap about baseball with some early eighties-stlyed hookwork.
**Five Stars**
26. "Keepin' the Faith"
Even as we get to the final musical track on the album, the high-quality of the thing is maintaied with banging production, which has extensive us of samples (just as we've had throughout the album). The funkiness of it gets them able to come with a killer cut to end it off on.
**Five Stars**
27. "Skit 5"
"DeLaSoulIs Dead" is a classic album from the group, and one to look out for as they come with lots of new and origianl things, which have been used in the Hip Hop world eversince. The amount of short interludes and skits may put some off (as it did myself) but the remainder ...
Advantages: Great in car tune. Disadvantages: Wears thin after a while
It was no easy work matching up to the standards that DeLaSoul's debut album '3ft High And Rising' set for all the crew's preceding efforts and for a while it seemed that it wasn't to be. This latest single is, gladly, a return to form for the former daisy-agers seeing them at their funkiest for a while. The days of saying 'No Go' having long since passed, DeLa now find themselves recruiting the unique vocal talents of New Jersey's weed-smoking microphone terrorist, Redman. A wise move, as Redman's instantly recognisable style gives DeLa's low-key mic skills, once perfectly suited to their gently upbeat productions, the contrast needed to fit into the contemporary , neck-snappin' production style. Add a sing-along chorus to seal the trio's triumphant return. ...
Product Information for "Stakes Is High - De La Soul" »
Product details
Title
Stakes Is High
Performer
De La Soul
Genre
R&B
Sub Genre
Underground / Alt Rap
Release Date
02/1997
Original Release Year
1996
Label / Distributor
Tommy Boy / -
Pieces in Set
1
Studio / Live
Studio
Format
Performer
EAN
5029831114934
Additional notes
Album Notes
De La Soul: Pos Plug Wonder Why, Dave "Dr.ama," (rap vocals); Maseo. Additional personnel: Common, Mos Def, Truth Enola (rap vocals); Zhane, Jazzyfatnastees (vocals). Producers: De La Soul, Spearhead X, Ogee, Skeff Anslem, Jay Dee. Engineers: Guido Osorio, Tim Latham. Recorded at World Recording Facility and Platinum Island, New York, New York. Still straight-up from Strong Island, still pushing the hip-hop envelope, still De La Soul. What these three guys have, if you don't know by now, is a platinum-certified knack for big, phat beats and literate, creative rhymes. The kind of beats that make you nod your head without thinking. And the kind of rhymes that make you hit "Rewind" in awe. Fluid. Smooth. But always an undercurrent of emotion--sometimes romantic frustration, as in "Dog Eat Dog," sometimes thinly veiled satire (it is, isn't it?), as in "Baby Baby Baby Baby Ooh Baby," and sometimes pride in their home turf and their talent, as in "Long Island Degrees." Sure, as on just about any hip-hop disc these days, there's the requisite "I'm the best" braggadocio. De La Soul has a right to brag, though. This band has stayed fiercely loyal to a pure hip-hop sound, and as a result is still 3 feet high (at least) and still rising.
Album Reviews
The Source (7/96, p.87) - 4 Mics - Slammin' - "...Unlike trend chameleons whose personalities flow to the ebbs of ringing cash registers, da Soul spits into the winds of the reigning orthodoxy, targeting gangsta poseurs and microwave Mafioso..." Rap Pages (7/96, p.29) - 8 (out of 10) - "...With each album...De La Soul invariably shoulder the burden placed on them by fans to once again save Hip-Hop from the throes of commercialism....De La Soul's mission this time is to serve as a counterpoint to the `players' who have simply dominated Hip-Hop over the last few years with images and slogans centering on violence..." Spin (8/96, pp.98-100) - Reasonably Good - "...Recording for the first time without Prince Paul....De La Soul have settled for a series of serviceable, mid-tempo grooves. There's a not-unpleasing nimbleness about STAKES, but toying with a groove, not merely establishing it, has always been the appeal of a De La record..." New York Times (7/28/96, Sec.2, P.30) - "...[STAKES IS HIGH] sounds deceptively relaxed and bouyant as De La Soul pulls off some complex maneuvers simultaneously....De La Soul has found its balance again. Its vamps are calm but determined, dipping into jazz and old soul. And the raps...are more straightforward..." NME (6/29/96, p.53) - 6 (out of 10) - "...no, they're NOT going to be hippy-rap clowns any more for anyone....at least they'll get respect from the hip-hop community by making another no-frills, monochrome rap record that is, well, alright..." Entertainment Weekly (7/12/96, p.58) - "...Musically, they've traded in their gorgeously weird jazz-based soundscapes for sparser, straight-ahead beats....Still, De La Soul prove they can snap on new-jack poseurs as effectively as they did on the old ones..." - Rating: B Uncut (6/03, p.133) - "...It was on 1996's STAKES IS HIGH that they found their true mature voice..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Intro
2.
Supa Emcees
3.
Bizness - De La Soul & Common
4.
Wonce Again Long Island
5.
Dinninit
6.
Brakes
7.
Dog Eat Dog
8.
Baby Baby Baby Baby Ooh Baby
9.
Long Island Degrees
10.
Betta Listen
11.
Itzsoweezee (HOT)
12.
4 More - De La Soul & Zhane
13.
Big Brother Beat - De La Soul & Mos Def
14.
Down Syndrome
15.
Pony Ride - De La Soul & Truth Enola
16.
Stakes Is High
17.
Sunshine
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since
04/01/2003
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