Stakes is High

Product Information

Long Island Degrees" contains samples from "Before I Rest" ( Les McCann) and "It Only Happen" ( Aretha Franklin) Sprague, David (August 8, 1996). " Stakes Is High". Rolling Stone. New York . Retrieved June 13, 2012. Salamon, Jeff (August 1996). "De La Soul: Stakes Is High". Spin. Vol.12, no.5. New York. pp.98–100 . Retrieved December 16, 2018. First their fans were hippies, then weirdos, then jazz dorks. By the time De La Soul went to work on Stakes Is High , the message was clear: try to advance the artform, fewer will care. Critical darlings and commercial failures alike, Posdnuos tells XXL on the 15 year anniversary of Stakes that in 1996 they asked themselves, “What do we mean to the world? Does what we’ve accomplished even matter anymore?” Stakes Is High causes a rift. In 1996 hip hop’s trippiest trio takes an “unfortunate turn for the conservative” with barren melodic canvases, according to critics. What once was the proper dosage of cynicism, now expresses “utter joylessness.” Critics question the absence of Prince Paul and label the Long Island trio as conformists making “assembly line beats imparting the exhilaration of a suburban traffic jam.” De La Soul is... actually dead to them.

Smith, Ethan (July 12, 1996). " Stakes Is High". Entertainment Weekly. New York . Retrieved June 13, 2012. After the album's release, the group toured extensively and remained rather quiet before returning in 2000 with the first installment of their "Art Official Intelligence" series, Mosaic Thump. Christgau, Robert (July 23, 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York . Retrieved December 16, 2018.

Credits (12)

The reason why we cant get a reissue is the conflict between De La and Tommy Boy for the past 10 years at least. Last we heard, Tommy Boy wanted to split royalties with the band 90/10. Deal fell through and Tommy holds the rights to bands first 6 albums. Try looking for it on any digital platform and you cant find it. So only hard copies are available. Which makes it pretty unique because what isn't on Apple music at this point? If De La Soul had one thing going for them in 1993, it was that critics were on their side. Record sales did not reflect the importance of Buhloone Mindstate , its legacy is in those who praised and defended it not as loyalists but as free thinkers who saw beyond the snark of the “Ego Trippin’” video . The language reflects the deep reading and alliance. The Source reviewed it with praise of the trio “vibing on a wavelength three feet higher than anyone else.” Rolling Stone said the record raises the stakes. It’s like De La Soul has collective conscious with the critics.

Stakes Is High marked the first time De La Soul did not collaborate with longtime producer Prince Paul on an album, as the group felt that the production he turned in for it didn't match the album's mood.De La Soul is old in ‘96. Buncha late 20s cats with tired complaints like they didn’t attempt to take alternate routes and high roads around N.W.A. and Ice-T only to reemerge among All Eyez On Me , the Infamous , and Ice Cream Man .