1991 French cassette version, still sealed! On their notorious second album, De La Soul went to great lengths to debunk the daisy-age hippie image they'd been pigeonholed with, titling the record De La Soul Is Dead and putting a picture of wilting daisies in a broken flowerpot on the cover. Critics and fans alike were puzzled as to why the group was seemingly rejecting what had been hailed as the future of hip-hop, and neither the reviews nor the charts were kind to the album. It isn't that De La try to remake their sound here -- Dead keeps the skit-heavy structure of the debut, and the surreal tone and inventive sampling techniques are still very much in evidence. But, despite a few lighthearted moments ("Bitties in the BK Lounge," the disco-flavored "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'"), a distinct note of bitterness has crept into De La's once-sunny outlook. On the one hand, they're willing to take on more serious subject matter; two of the album's most powerful moments are the unsettling incest tale "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" and Posdnuos' drug-addiction chronicle "My Brother's a Basehead," both true-life occurrences. Yet other tracks betray a brittle, insular state of mind; one running skit features a group of street thugs who ultimately throw the album in the trash for not having enough pimps, guns, or curse words. There are vicious parodies of hip-house and hardcore rap, and the single "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" complains about being harassed into listening to lousy demo tapes. Plus, the negativity of the bizarre, half-sung "Johnny's Dead" and the hostile narrator on "Who Do U Worship?" seemingly comes out of nowhere. Dead is clearly the product of a group staggering under the weight of expectations, yet even if it's less cohesive and engaging, it's still often fascinating in spite of its flaws.
A1 | Intro | 2:14 |
A2 | Oodles Of O's | 3:31 |
A3 | Talkin' Bout Hey Love | 2:27 |
A4 | Pease Porridge | 5:02 |
A5 | Skit 1 | 0:25 |
A6 | A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays" | 4:02 |
A7 | WRMS' Dedication To The Bitty | 0:46 |
A8 | Bitties In The BK Lounge | 5:40 |
A9 | Skit 2 | 0:31 |
A10 | Let, Let Me In | 3:25 |
A11 | Afro Connection At A Hi 5 | 4:09 |
B1 | Rap De Rap Show | 2:19 |
B2 | Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa | 4:10 |
B3 | Skit 3 | 0:33 |
B4 | Pass The Plugs | 3:30 |
B5 | Not Over Til The Fat Lady Plays The Demo | 1:29 |
B6 | Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey) | 5:06 |
B7 | WRMS: Cat's In Control | 0:34 |
B8 | Skit 4 | 0:12 |
B9 | Shwingalokate | 4:14 |
B10 | Fanatic Of The B Word | 4:09 |
B11 | Keepin' The Faith | 4:45 |
B12 | Skit 5 | 0:32 |