DE LA SOUL

DE LA SOUL
DE LA SOUL IS DEAD (1991)
320 KBPS

De La Soul burned out on their own hype fast, and their dark, strange second album is a counter-blast to their image and hip-hop culture: perverse, dissatisfied, sometimes brilliant, sometimes out of control. Occasionally it seems mean-spirited--the single "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" finds them grousing about getting deluged by demo tapes, and "Kicked Out The House" is a nasty (if very funny) parody of hip-house. But no one's ever made a rap album that sounds like this. Sickly out-of-tune loops drift in and out; songs derail themselves with loud sneers, or give way to bizarre dialogues; Posdnuos and Trugoy chant together like the words have lost all meaning. The concept that ties the disc together---an imaginary radio station called WRMS--gives it an extra kick.

1. Intro
2. Oodles of O's
3. Talkin' Bout Hey Love
4. Pease Porridge
5. Skit 1
6. Johnny's Dead AKA Vincent Mason (Live from the BK Lounge)
7. Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"
8. WRMS' Dedication to the Bitty
9. Bitties in the BK Lounge
10. Skit 2
11. My Brother's a Basehead
12. Let, Let Me In
13. Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)
14. Rap de Rap Show
15. Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa
16. Who Do U Worship?
17. Skit 3
18. Kicked Out of the House
19. Pass the Plugs
20. Not Over Till the Fat Lady Plays the Demo
21. Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)
22. WRMS: Cat's in Control
23. Skit 4
24. Shwingalokate
25. Fanatic of the B Word
26. Keepin' the Faith
27. Skit 5

ART OFFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: MOSAIC THUMP (2000)
320 KBPS

After a hiatus from releasing albums De La Soul returned with this. And believe me it does not dissapoint. I dont understand why so many critics dismissed this album as a total failure, this is a good album and there are really only a few tracks that I find myself skipping through. Sure, Prince Paul didnt produce on this one but the beats are still good and, if this is not the second coming of DE LA SOUL IS DEAD, it is still better than 90% of the attempted comebacks by most Hiphop artists today.

1. Intro/Say R.
2. U Can Do (Life)
3. My Writes - featuring Tash & J-Ro
4. Oooh - featuring Redman
5. Thru Ya City - featuring D.V. Alias Khrist
6. I.C. Y'All - featuring Busta Rhymes
7. View
8. Set The Mood - featuring Indeed
9. All Good? - featuring Chaka Khan
10. Declaration
11. Squat! - featuring Mike D and Ad Rock
12. Words From The Chief Rocker - featuring Busy Bee
13. With Me
14. Copa (Cabanga)
15. Foolin'
16. The Art Of Getting Jumped
17. U Don't Wanna B.D.S. - featuring Freddie Foxx