De La Soul
Art Official Intelligence (Mosaic Thump)
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De La Soul
Art Official Intelligence (Mosaic Thump)
Tommy Boy, 2000
RiYL: A Tribe Called Quest, Gang Starr, Beastie Boys |
While it's not as deep as De La Soul Is Dead, and certainly doesn't attain the instant-classic status of 3 Feet High And Rising, Mosaic Thump (the first of a planned trilogy) succeeds at what it's aiming for, which is pure, unadulterated fun.
Appropriating "Summer In The City," blasting "shiny suit rappers" left and right, and throwing in great freestyle shots from luminaries such as Black Thought and Phife in the unlikely guise of radio ads for a product called "Ghost Weed," De La Soul don't shut up, they put up. As they've always contended, and continue to do so here, they're far better rappers than most of the folks outselling them: as Posdnuous has it on the irresistable single "Oooh": "you're all just rookies to me."
On this album, they make a strong case for the widespread fame that they've always deserved. With cuts like "Squat!," "I.C. Y'all," and Maseo's star turn "You Don't Wanna B.D.S.," they've got a good chance of gaining it, too.
MARK T.R. DONOHUE | Mark T.R. Donohue is a prolific freelance writer whose areas of expertise include Rockies baseball, video games, genre television, English soccer, and pub rock. He lives in Colorado, where he cultivates the largest and creepiest private collection of Alyson Hannigan memorabilia in the Mountain West.