De La Soul Is Dead
De La Soul Is Dead is the second studio album by American hip-hop group De La Soul, released on May 14, 1991.[11] The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on 3 Feet High and Rising was highly praised by music critics. The album was one of the first to receive a five-mic rating in the Hip hop magazine The Source; [9] and the album was also selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums in 1998.[12] The album's cover refers to the death of the "D.A.I.S.Y." (Da Inner Sound, Y'all) age, or a distancing from several cultures including hippies and mainstream hip-hop.[1]
| De La Soul Is Dead | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 14, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1990–91 | |||
| Studio | Calliope Studios | |||
| Genre | Alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 73:30 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| De La Soul chronology | ||||
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| Singles from De La Soul Is Dead | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+[3] |
| Los Angeles Times | |
| Orlando Sentinel | |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  |
| The Source | 5/5[9] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[10] |
The song "Oodles of O's" was featured on the soundtrack of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4.
Overview
The album features a series of separate, ongoing skits. The introduction to the album features Jeff, a teenage character (introduced in the B-sides to "Eye Know" and "Me Myself and I": "Brain Washed Follower," "The Mack Daddy on the Left," and the rare "Double Huey Skit"). In a parody of old children's book-and-record read-along sets, Jeff finds a cassette tape copy of a De La Soul album in the garbage. Bullies appear, beat up Jeff, and steal the tape. Ensuing skits feature these bullies harshly criticizing the songs on the album. Mista Lawnge of Black Sheep provides the voice of the lead antagonist, while P.A. Pasemaster Mase voices the other bully who gets ridiculed and abused by Lawnge for his admiration of the album. Throughout the skits, the sound of the signal that lets the reader know that it's time to turn the page is heard. In the end, they throw the tape back in the trash, exclaiming, "De La Soul is dead." The album also introduces a fictional radio station called WRMS that plays nothing but De La Soul music.
The song "Pass the Plugs" features the lyrics "Arsenio dissed us but the crowd kept clapping." This refers to the group performing on The Arsenio Hall Show, where Arsenio Hall introduced them as "the hippies of hip-hop." The group then performed "Me Myself and I," which explicitly states that they are not hippies. The credits for the show also began to run over the performance before the group was finished, contributing to the perceived lack of respect. Despite not wanting to be labeled as hippies, the group also did not want to be labeled hardcore. The album's 13th track, "Afro Connections at a Hi-5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)," is an ironic attack directed at the emerging gangsta movement of the early 1990s.
In 2008 the album was re-released on vinyl without the CD version's bonus tracks.
Track listing
All tracks written by P. Huston, K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason; additional writers credited below.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | C. Johns, L. Farrow | 2:14 |
| 2. | "Oodles of O's" | T. Waits | 3:31 |
| 3. | "Talkin' Bout Hey Love" | S. Gainsbourg, S. Wonder, C. Paul, | 2:27 |
| 4. | "Pease Porridge" | A. Goodhart, A. Hoffman, H. Magidson, | 5:02 |
| 5. | "Skit 1" | 0:25 | |
| 6. | "Johnny's Dead AKA Vincent Mason (lftBKl)" | 1:57 | |
| 7. | "A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"" | R. Matthews, J. Davis | 4:03 |
| 8. | "WRMS' Dedication to the Bitty" | J. Sample | 0:46 |
| 9. | "Bitties in the BK Lounge" | K. Nix, R. Isley, R. Isley, O.K. Isley | 5:40 |
| 10. | "Skit 2" | 0:31 | |
| 11. | "My Brother's a Basehead *" | C. Ballard Jr., R. Krieger | 4:20 |
| 12. | "Let, Let Me In" | B. McCracken, L. Fulson, B. Birthright | 3:25 |
| 13. | "Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)" | 4:02 | |
| 14. | "Rap de Rap Show" | 2:19 | |
| 15. | "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" | G. Clinton, G. Cook | 4:10 |
| 16. | "Who Do U Worship? *" | 1:59 | |
| 17. | "Skit 3" | 0:31 | |
| 18. | "Kicked Out the House *" | 1:56 | |
| 19. | "Pass the Plugs" | E. Wright, W. Smith, J. Perry | 3:30 |
| 20. | "Not Over till the Fat Lady Plays the Demo" | S. Gainsbourg, J.C. Vannier | 1:29 |
| 21. | "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" | G. Skinner | 5:06 |
| 22. | "WRMS: Cat's in Control" | J. Sample | 0:34 |
| 23. | "Skit 4" | 0:12 | |
| 24. | "Shwingalokate" | K. McCord, G. Clinton, B. Nelson | 4:14 |
| 25. | "Fanatic of the B Word" (featuring Dres) | M. Jones, D. Kinsey, A. Titus | 4:09 |
| 26. | "Keepin' the Faith" | B. Marley, R. Temperton, M. Adams | 4:45 |
| 27. | "Skit 5" | 0:32 |
- signifies bonus tracks exclusively found on the CD version.
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[13] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
References
- Huey, Steve. "De La Soul Is Dead – De La Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
- Kot, Greg (May 16, 1991). "De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead (Tommy Boy)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- Browne, David (May 24, 1991). "De La Soul Is Dead". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- Gold, Jonathan (May 12, 1991). "Another Great Rap Hope Falters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- Gettelman, Parry (August 2, 1991). "De La Soul". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- "De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead". Q (209): 149. December 2003.
- Poulson-Bryant, Scott (May 30, 1991). "De La Soul Is Dead". Rolling Stone (605). Archived from the original on November 16, 2007.
- Caramanica, Jon (2004). "De La Soul". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 224–25. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- Atco (May 1991). "De La Soul: De La Soul Is Dead". The Source (24). Retrieved June 13, 2012.
- Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- Hernandez, Victoria. "De La Soul Reflects On Da Inna Sound For 25th Anniversary Of "De La Soul Is Dead"". HipHopDX. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
- "The 100 Best Rap Albums". The Source #100. January 1998. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
- "American album certifications – De La Soul – De La Soul Is Dead". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.