De La Soul : Is Dead

CD [Cover Art for De La Soul / Is Dead]

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Your Price: $11.04 (List Price: $13.99)
Rated 9 with 2 responses
Availability: In Stock
Sell date: 5/1991
Label: Rhino / Ada
Mfg's Catalog#: 81029
CDC Part#: 211877
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 Notes & Reviews
 
Full title is: De La Soul Is Dead

Length: 73:30


On their notorious second album, De La Soul went to great lengths to debunk the daisy-age hippie image they'd been pigeonholed with, titling the record De La Soul Is Dead and putting a picture of wilting daisies in a broken flowerpot on the cover. Critics and fans alike were puzzled as to why the group was seemingly rejecting what had been hailed as the future of hip-hop, and neither the reviews nor the charts were kind to the album. It isn't that De La try to remake their sound here -- Dead keeps the skit-heavy structure of the debut, and the surreal tone and inventive sampling techniques are still very much in evidence. But, despite a few lighthearted moments ( 'Bitties in the BK Lounge,' the disco -flavored 'A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'' ), a distinct note of bitterness has crept into De La's once-sunny outlook. On the one hand, they're willing to take on more serious subject matter; two of the album's most powerful moments are the unsettling incest tale 'Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa' and Posdnuos' drug-addiction chronicle 'My Brother's a Basehead,' both true-life occurrences. Yet other tracks betray a brittle, insular state of mind; one running skit features a group of street thugs who ultimately throw the album in the trash for not having enough pimps, guns, or curse words. There are vicious parodies of hip-house and hardcore rap, and the single 'Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)' complains about being harassed into listening to lousy demo tapes. Plus, the negativity of the bizarre, half-sung 'Johnny's Dead' and the hostile narrator on 'Who Do U Worship?' seemingly comes out of nowhere. Dead is clearly the product of a group staggering under the weight of expectations, yet even if it's less cohesive and engaging, it's still often fascinating in spite of its flaws. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide

 
 Tracks and Sound Clips   Click here for the Windows Media player
 
Intro - 2:14 Play the Windows Media clip
Oodles of O's - 3:31 Play the Windows Media clip
Talkin' Bout Hey Love - 2:27 Play the Windows Media clip
Pease Porridge - 5:02 Play the Windows Media clip
Skit 1 - :25
Johnny's Dead AKA Vincent Mason (Live from the BK Lounge) [Live] - 1:57 Play the Windows Media clip
Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays" - 4:02 Play the Windows Media clip
WRMS' Dedication to the Bitty - :46 Play the Windows Media clip
Bitties in the BK Lounge - 5:40 Play the Windows Media clip
Skit 2 - :31 Play the Windows Media clip
My Brother's a Basehead - 4:02 Play the Windows Media clip
Let, Let Me In - 3:25 Play the Windows Media clip
Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum) - 4:02 Play the Windows Media clip
Rap de Rap Show - 2:19 Play the Windows Media clip
Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa - 4:10 Play the Windows Media clip
Who Do U Worship? [*] - 1:59 Play the Windows Media clip
Skit 3 - :31 Play the Windows Media clip
Kicked Out of the House - 1:56 Play the Windows Media clip
Pass the Plugs - 3:30 Play the Windows Media clip
Not Over Till the Fat Lady Plays the Demo - 1:29 Play the Windows Media clip
Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) - 5:06 Play the Windows Media clip
WRMS: Cat's in Control - :34 Play the Windows Media clip
Skit 4 - :12
Shwingalokate - 4:14 Play the Windows Media clip
Fanatic of the B Word - 4:09 Play the Windows Media clip
Keepin' the Faith - 4:45 Play the Windows Media clip
Skit 5 - :32 Play the Windows Media clip
 Recommendations

People who buy de la soul CDS may also enjoy, in order of descending probability, the works of Tribe Called Quest, Ghostface Killah, Jeru The Damaja, Eric B And Rakim, Gang Starr, Brand Nubian, Krs One, Big Daddy Kane, Common, Pete Rock, Public Enemy, Jungle Brothers, Digable Planets, Boogie Down Productions, Souls Of Mischief.

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