De La Soul, Bulhoone Mind State - More music that I slept on in it’s original release. True, I was much younger then (and still didn’t own my first CD until age 21) and living in western NY state. Bring on the Bon Jovi and Warrant. Tribe Called who? EP needs an MD? Yeah, I’m behind. But I am trying. And liking what I try. This may prove to be a series on the grandness that is De La Soul. I’ve been airing my grievances on contemporary hip hop lacking any serious depth when all I had to do was go back 10 years to find it. Regressive? Don’t tell Lil’ Jon.
This album is as much a triumph on lyrical expressionism as it is with musical experimentation. De La Soul flirt with weighty images of self identification, image, poverty, and moral mistakes with a genuine and sonically diverse attitude. Early to mid ’90s hip hop should be classified as the Impressionist era. No two songs seem to settle blanketly on one type of genre, whether jazzy, funky, bass driven, or pop. Yet they convey the strengths of each element well. Plus, we get intelligent lyrics that are clever and witty but unpretentious. And even fun. This is hip hop after all.
I’ve acquired much of De La Soul’s library of classic albums and I look forward to expanding my knowledge of their sound. If only I wasn’t being a harbinger of the past…
Burn by Ray LaMontagne