Band: De La Soul
Album: 3 Feet High and Rising
Why Rolling Stone gets it right: Christgau calls it the "New Wave to Public Enemy's punk" and he's absolutely right. The group's odd rhyming style and Beasties-influenced sample use was totally unconventional at the time and their introspective narratives remain an oddity in the genre.
Why Rolling Stone gets it wrong: This is the type of album that probably should be higher. The album's influence on underground rap is nearly impossible to measure, as De La and A Tribe Called Quest were closer than you'd think.
Best song: "The Magic Number" is great, as is "Me, Myself and I."
Worst song: The skits can get annoying and "Ghetto Thang" isn't great.
Is it awesome?: Yes.
Somewhere between the hippies of the 60s and gangster rap of the 80s and 90s lies this record. The album has the narrative greatness of , the sexual introspective greatness of "Eye Know and "Jenifa Taught Me," the anti-drug snthem "Say No Go," the enviornmentalism of "Tread Water" and the pure greatness of "Me Myself and I."
One of the first rap records I knew of was "3 Feet High and Rising." It remains one of the best hip hop albums of all-time.
1 comment:
If it's here for influence, I can understand, but I'd much rather listen to A Tribe Called Quest. This album is erratic and the skits break up the flow even more. Sure, it's important, but it hasn't held up well.
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