Stakes Is High

Product Information

City-bred trio of Posdnuos (Pos), Dave and Maseo continued to impact Hip Hop culture with five more groundbreaking albums: "De La Soul Is Dead" ('91), "Buhloone Mindstate" ('93), "Stakes Is High" ('96), "Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump" ('00) and "AOI: Bionix" ('01). Here, they're no longer so self-conscious and it's easy to remember why you liked them enough in the first place to stick with them through the hard times. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. I think that the energy we put into that song was similar to that of what Marvin Gaye put into “What’s Going On.

Tip is playing this new beat for Pos from Dilla and based on the history that those two have, anytime Pos gave a head nod to some shit, Q-Tip ended up keeping the beat and try to make something out of it, so he tried to use reverse psychology on this particular one.Then they tried to kill the Daisy with their follow-up, De La Soul Is Dead and then tried to find their way through the aftermath of that unnecessary act on Buh-Loone Mind State.

Great to see so many other reviewers echoing what I'm feeling about this record - its absolute quality! All the tracks are as original from what I can hear, no edits which is too common with Hip Hop reissues. Robert Christgau wrote: "After almost four years, Posdnuos and company emerge from the ether like the long-lost friends they are.I look back on people like that and think about how they had that moment of clarity, where they looked around them and at things decaying in their society–whether it’s music or life, that’s where “Stakes is High” was at. Feet High and Rising was De La Soul's first release and a very influential album, held in similarly high regard as Criminal Minded, which is discussed at the beginning of the album. The climactic point of De La Soul’s “Stakes is High” album serves as a criticism to the state of the world in 1996, along with a declaration that the Native Tongues are back in effect.

At the end of track 15, "Pony Ride"—an excerpt from the documentary Crumb, in which Maxon Crumb discusses his struggle living on the streets, describing his periods of optimism and depression. The song included many memorable lines such as Posdnous' " Gun control means using both hands in my land. A very sobering, serious track that differs vastly from the playful music that De La Soul has always been known for.I’m not sure how the record itself sounds, but the cover looks amazing and it arrived protected and in perfect condition. Da Inna Sound, Y'all) philosophy on their brilliant and weird debut, Three Feet High and Rising (making them the first—and probably only—hip-hop act to appropriate a Johnny Cash song for their album title). Stakes Is High deals with many topics, including the state of hip-hop, the commercialization of hip-hop culture, and criticism of gangsta rap.