Tag: delasoul

  Where were you when you heard ‘Stakes Is High?’ A challenging question but a memory that has to bring nothing but joy when recalling hearing this album for the first time. This was a summer release that was highly anticipated and could have been a “make or break” for the now veteran group. ‘Stakes Is High’ is the fourth album from De La Soul, who were coming off of their first two incredible and genre changing albums; and a third album that was not as experimental but serviced fans. It was also the first time that the group would be without Prince Paul who seemingly was a huge reason why their first three albums worked in such an abstract way. Could “The Plugs” pull off an amazing feat after a three year hiatus, and the sound of HOP music changing drastically within that time? The first single which tackles the album name and a myriad of issues as well as the overall theme of the album was an automatic hit for Hip-Hop listeners. The songs purpose was clear and one understood which side of Hip-Hop’s “imaginary line drawn in the sand” De La Soul stood on. The next test would be the album, which given its subtle cover art displaying children and the album title, presents a new more mature look for the trio. ‘Stakes Is High’ is not as “quirky” as their first album or “anti” as their second album or “directionless” as their third album. This is an effort that utilizes pieces of all the previous albums and executes a perfect collage of Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo’s growth of making music. There is too much good on this album, from the opening intro asking that serendipitous question about Boogie Down Productions’ debut release, to the feel good opening of ‘Dinninit,’ and the massive weight of ‘Big Brother Beat.’ There is so much good on this album that it was almost the fault of the record. Songs like ‘Baby, Baby…,’ ‘Down Syndrome’ and ‘Itzsoweezee’ sounded out of place but these songs actually created the best outcome for the album to not fall into one groove, no matter how great that groove was. ‘Stakes Is High’ creates a moment for a newer generation to experience De La Soul. Time was either moving slower back then or our younger minds processed the world longer but by 1996, De La was considered “old school.” I can say personally that title was thrown out the window when the ‘Itzsoweezee’ video released. Not only did the video make me love the song after initially not caring for it, but also teleported me to those last days of school before summer break. Only in this particular day of school your peers were a rogue’s gallery of everyone you listened to in HOP music. What did you think of the album? Singles include: ‘Stakes Is High,’ ‘Itzsoweezee (hot)’ ‘The Bizness’ & ‘4 More’ Listen to QUANTUM LEAP RADIO every Saturday from 4-6p.m. CST & Thursday from 1-3a.m. CST on 90.1 FM KPFT Houston in HD2 Worldwide @kpft.org/listen (under “kpft in HD2”) or get the KPFT APP in your playstore!!! Catch past episodes by searching and following @https://linktr.ee/QLEAPRADIO