A ton of artists have used albums to tear down peoples\u2019 perceptions. In Utero<\/i> was Nirvana\u2019s partial response to the huge breakthrough of Nevermind<\/i>. Faith No More\u2019s Angel Dust<\/i> was partly a response to all those listeners who thought \u201cEpic\u201d was the extent of their range. Lou Reed\u2019s Metal Machine Music<\/i> was a response to\u2026whatever. But De La Soul took this type of deconstruction to its limit, musically, with De La Soul Is Dead<\/i>. The entire album focuses on the dismantling of the peace-loving, hippie image that defined the hip-hop pioneers with 3 Feet High And Rising<\/i>. <\/p>\n
One can\u2019t blame the band for feeling the pressure to harden their image. In 1991, in the era of N.W.A. and Ice-T, being hip-hop and associated with daisies and peace signs was about as appealing as being outed as a hardcore Republican or gay, or worse: a log-cabin Republican. What\u2019s worse, De La Soul\u2019s album 3 Feet High And Rising<\/i>, easily one of the best hip-hop albums ever, resulted in the band being sued by The Turtles, who De La Soul sampled without permission. As a result, the era of free-sampling quickly shored up. Music purists may rejoice, but the result would make it nearly impossible for albums such as the Beastie Boys\u2019 Paul\u2019s Boutique<\/i> or 3 Feet High and Rising<\/i> to have ever existed in today\u2019s climate. <\/p>\n
Anyway, De La Soul went for broke, artistically, with De La Soul Is Dead<\/i>.\u00a0 What other band would make a quasi-concept album about a group of punks who steal the new De La Soul album and proceed to trash the album throughout some of the skits? The album isn\u2019t nearly as instantly appealing as 3 Feet High And Rising<\/i>, but the risks the album takes make it an essential purchase. Few rap albums are able to pull off a Tom Waits sample in the first song without it sounding pretentious. <\/p>\n