228. De La Soul, "De La Soul Is Dead"

 


Even with my limited knowledge of hip-hop, I know this much: De La Soul is untouchable.  After releasing one of the most important and groundbreaking albums - not hip-hop albums, but albums - of all time, 3 Feet High and Rising (which we will certainly see in this space one of these days), De La was faced with that same dilemma familiar to every artist whose debut is a stupefying success: what next?  Sadly, many or most acts fold under the pressure.  For every Sound of Silver, there are a thousand Room on Fires.

De La Soul did not fold.

This album is filled with just as much production inventiveness and lyrical flow and just fun beats as the first album, but there's a turn towards decidedly darker content.  "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa," for example, is a tale of sexual assault and revenge:

Macy's department store, the scene for Santa's kisses
And all the little brats demandin' all of their wishes
Time passes by as I wait for my younger brother
He asks his wish, I waste no time to return him back to Mother
As I'm jettin', Millie floats in like a zombie
I ask her what's her problem, all she says is "Where is he?"
I give a point, she pulls a pistol, people screamin'
She shouts to Dill, "He's off to hell cuz he's a demon!"

Damn.  Although the whole album is great, I want to point to a three-song block in the middle: "My Brother's a Basehead." "Let, Let Me In," and "Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)."  "Basehead" is about pretty much what it sounds like, but the beat is so great and the samples - it uses a ton of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders' 1965 "The Game of Love" which is an absolute jam - are just expertly selected.  "Let, Let Me In" is another bop, a total head-bobber.  "Afro Connections" is a reaction to gangsta rap, the style that would come to dominate the 90's, supplanting De La's position.  Just three incredible songs, a perfect encapsulation of this album.

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? Absolutely.

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