De La Soul Is Dead — De La Soul

A brilliant, satirical deconstruction of fame wrapped in dusty jazz loops and defiant energy.

Tracklist · 24 Tracks

Intro

2:14

Oodles of O’s

3:33

Talkin’ Bout Hey Love

2:27

Pease Porridge

5:02

Skit 1

0:26

Johnny’s Dead a.k.a. Vincent Mason (live from the BK Lounge)

1:57

WRMS’ Dedication to the Bitty

0:46

Bitties in the BK Lounge

5:40

Skit 2

0:31

My Brother’s a Basehead

4:20

Let, Let Me In

3:26

Afro Connections at a Hi 5 (In the Eyes of the Hoodlum)

4:03

Rap De Rap Show

2:20

Who Do U Worship?

2:00

Skit 3

0:33

Kicked Out the House

1:56

Pass the Plugs

3:30

Not Over Till the Fat Lady Plays the Demo

1:30

Ring, Ring, Ring (Ha Ha Hey) (album version)

5:06

WRMS: Cat’s in Control

0:34

Skit 4

0:12

Shwingalokate

4:13

Fanatic of the B Word

4:09

Skit 5

0:33

Moments Worth Listening For

The abrupt shift from the whimsical storybook intro to the heavy, driving rhythm of Oodles of O’s.

The biting sarcasm of the BK Lounge skits where the group confronts their own fame and critics.

The way Ring, Ring, Ring (Ha Ha Hey) uses a smooth saxophone loop to mask a frustrated narrative about industry hangers-on.

Reviews

Also reviewed byAllMusic

Where This Album Departs

How does De La Soul Is Dead sound next to the rest of De La Soul's catalogue?

This album stays in step with the catalogue across the board — no axis departs enough to be worth its own note. Hover the dots to see where each one sits.

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