DE LA SOUL
AOI: BIONIX
TOMMY BOY
Thirteen years ago (!) De La Soul released their debut record 3 Feet High and Rising - a record that completely altered the way rap music could look or sound. The album was built upon outrageously obscure samples, wonderfully simple melodic elements, and above all, a pervading sense of intelligent humor that allowed them to laugh at themselves. They called it the Daisy Age (DA Inner Sound Ya'll) and used silliness as a way of expressing their reality - rare behavior in the world of hip-hop, particularly during a time when Public Enemy and KRS-One were marketing hip-hop as a political rallying cry. While there may no longer be anything politically relevant in commercial rap music - there are an abundance of free thinkers and radical hip hoppers who dwell in the underground - De La Soul included. AOI: Bionix, part two of their current Art Official Intelligence project, delivers fresh and funky jams with a purpose. "Baby Phat," the first single, is a big up to big women. "Watch Out" and "Held Down" show De La's contempt for the exploitive powers of organized religion. "Trying People" uses a children's chorus to emphasize its somber tone. Strong stuff for former daisy heads, but they can still rock a party if they so desire. "Simply" and its counterpart "Simply Havin" sample an old Paul McCartney & Wings classic and are perfect examples of why De La Soul is still around - unparalleled originality combined with intelligently worded rhymes. Irresistible.-AW
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