The Greatest 50 Hip-hop Albums Ever - #45...

[Twentytwofifty]

De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead (1991)


    Perhaps the best thing about this album is that it challenges your every opinion of it. With the perfect skits showing the typical rap fans slamming it, De La Soul anticipated what most people would think of it and managed to make sure it wasn't found in any garbage cans. I’m the first person to slam useless skits but these skits also brought continuity into the LP, and gave it a sense of personality that most hip hop albums lack.

    A great thing about this album is the sense of humour, which not only pervades the skits but also most of the tracks. How many hip-hop groups could pull of a song as inspired as the Burger King employees slam “Bitties In The B.K. Lounge”? Would many hip hop groups have the balls to make a straight diss to one of the time's most popular musical genres like “Kicked Out The House”? And whilst you always hear rappers moaning about getting demo tapes, how many of them make a song about it? And how many of them make it their lead single on the follow-up to a platinum album?

    Lyrically, this album is also good.  “Afro Connections At Hi 5”, for example, would have fallen flat if not fot the inspired gangsta parodies of both MCs plus Maseo. And their alternative rhyming styles (as evidenced on “Oodles of O's” and “Pease Porridge”) were also both innovative and plain incredible. By today's standards this album would probably be considered poor lyrically, but somehow this never occurs to you while you listen to it.

    And with Prince Paul at the helm, the beats are obviously infallible. “A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"” (featuring Q-Tip) utilized a number of 70s samples to create an incredibly dope disco-style beat (and Maseo's cuts also boost it up). Not to mention the excellent “My Brothers A Basehead,” with its unbeatable vocal sample and variety of other instrumental samples thrown in to make Pos' rhymes sound even better than they always do. And on one of the few more serious moments, Paul delivers an incredibly tight beat for “Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa.” In the words of Pos: "This is the styling for a title that sounds silly / But nothing's silly about the trifling times of Millie."

    There is a chance you won’t like this album on first listen.  This is definitely one that takes a while to get into so be patient.  You’ll see how great this album gets with time.

50. Dr. Dre – 2001 (1999)
49. Outkast – Southernplayalisticaddicmuzik (1994)
48. Jay-Z – Reasonable Doubt (1996)
47. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo – Wanted: Dead Or Alive (1990)
46. Redman - Whut? Thee Album (1992)
45. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead (1991)

[davida.b.]

The best song is "Oodles Of O's"

[Throwback]

dope read. when's #44 comin?

['EclipZe]

dope read. when's #44 comin?

[Twentytwofifty]

dope read. when's #44 comin?

Tomorrow or Tuesday
I haven't put it together yet, I waste work time doing these, so I'll do it tomorrow.

[QCDutch]

love this list ur doing
just one question: could you post the albums u already did as hotlinks like this so we wont have to search for em if we wanna check em out

50. Dr. Dre - 2001 (1999)
49. Outkast - Southernplayalisticaddicmuzik (1994)
48. Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (1996)
47. Kool G Rap & DJ Polo - Wanted: Dead Or Alive (1990)
46. Redman - Whut? Thee Album (1994)
45. De La Soul - De La Soul Is Dead (1991)

thanx

[white Boy]

i thought this would be higher, but ye , i def gotta download this.

[Lord Funk]

De La's finest moment IMO. Even better than 3 Feet High.

[Minkaveli]

nice read

[On The Edge of Insanity]

Dope mini review again, I think for people who haven't heard any De La before they should prehaps get hold of "3 Feet High & Rising" first, just because this album makes so much more sense following on from that album than if you just listen to it without having heard "3 Feet", because it is essentially a reaction to the image created for them by their first album.

[eS El Duque]

props..nice review..i'll download later

[Elevz]

Dope review, damn dope album, I'm actually surprised this one didn't end up higher! But hey, most people have said that of all the albums mentioned so far  This album sure was made from a great concept, and it ended up being really funny as described (I'm still laughing every time I hear "Bitties in the BK lounge"), and partying with cuts like "A rollerskating jam named Saturday" and "Ring ring ring, ha ha hey!"

Dope mini review again, I think for people who haven't heard any De La before they should prehaps get hold of "3 Feet High & Rising" first, just because this album makes so much more sense following on from that album than if you just listen to it without having heard "3 Feet", because it is essentially a reaction to the image created for them by their first album.

^^ cosign there. It picks up just where 3 Feet left off.

Great pick!

[rafsta]

props for the albun n review knuckles 

[Mr. Humonculous]

nice read

[Don Jacob]

i like this album but again i still think the order should be reciprocating better than red, dre, kast, g rap and jay -z , not really