So why is De La Soul Is Dead on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising snags a “higher” slot versus De La Soul Is Dead (#103 and #228, respectively) on Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking, whereas for me I have De La Soul Is Dead roughly 150 slots higher on this here best 1,000 albums ever project, with it landing at #304 versus #463.
Which is really to say we’re well agreed that both albums are very much top notch. Overall, I’ve always placed De La Soul’s best music in the same league as A Tribe Called Quest: 1990s underground hip hop that’s groundbreaking, inventive, quirky, and often funny and provocative at turns*.
* Also throw in albums such as Digable Planets’ Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space) (#353) in that mix.
I’m always struck by De La Soul’s often bright, upbeat, and soulful sound, and that comes together exquisitely on “A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays.’” That song title alone is so specific and wonderful, and the second you hit play you’re tempted to step into a time machine, strap on skates, and enter some perfect moment from far gone youth days.
“A Roller Skating Jam Named ‘Saturdays’” features Q-Tip of Tribe fame and Vinia Mojica. Via Wikipedia, it’s built around a riff from The Mighty Ryeders’ “Evil Vibrations,” includes a sample from “Saturday in the Park” by Chicago, and also involved contributions from Russell Simmons.
“Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa” takes on a much darker theme (“a tragic tale of a fictional girl and her father who sexually molests her”), and musically is smooth and groovy for days, sampling from the likes of Funkadelic, Patrice Rushen, and Melvin Bliss. This is also a good time to note that the rap stylings of Vincent Mason (Maseo) and Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) are worldclass.
I could listen to the guitar jazz guitars that kick in about halfway into “Bitties in the BK Lounge” all day long.
And double and triple down on that with the ultra groovy, swinging, and perkily paced “Let, Let Me In.” Bonus: I always laugh when “Walk This Way” by Aerosmith (and or Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C.) is given a shoutout.
“Kicked Out the House” is a hilarious, funky, and highly danceable 1980s jam updated for 1990s hip hop levels. Just fantastic.
Some stats & info about De La Soul Is Dead
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rap, Hip Hop, East Coast Rap, Alternative Rap, Jazzy Hip Hop, Hip Hop Golden Age
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – #228
- All Music’s rating – 4 out of 5 stars
- When was De La Soul Is Dead released? 1991
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #304 out of 1,000
De La Soul Is Dead on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from De La Soul Is Dead that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
Five days you work, one whole day to play. Come on everybody, wear your roller skates today.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.