On their fourth album, Stakes Is High, De La Soul provide the missing link between their unconventional attitude toward ’80s hip-hop and the upcoming revolution in ’90s “indie rap”—the idiosyncratic rappers like Black Star and Company Flow that took their ball and ran with it. It marked a moment where they could have just as easily fallen off—stakes were indeed high, and they subsequently moved away from Prince Paul’s screwball energy toward self-produced boom-bap and classically technical lyricism and punchlines. “I think when Paul was leaving, it was a little scary,” Trugoy the Dove told Apple Music in 2018. “The approach, being on our own, it was scary. It was the first time we invited that many outside producers into our space.”
Yearning for the days when MCs were MCs, the album is rooted in the trio’s deserved mythology as rap veterans and an undying devotion to the genre’s tenets. Raps Posdnuos, “While you others represent, I present my rep.” Naturally, its incisive bars about bars would be sampled by a phalanx of artists (Beastie Boys, Gang Starr, Jeru the Damaja, Quasimoto, Deltron 3030) and provided many through lines to the independent rap of the late ’90s: one of the first recorded appearances of Mos Def (“Big Brother Beat”), a guest appearance from Common (“The Bizness”) and a beat (“Stakes Is High”) from a little-known producer who would ultimately call himself J Dilla and change the world with his loping, human production.
Tracklisting
- Intro (2:35)
- Supa Emcees (3:40)
- The Bizness (4:22)
- Yunonstop (1:16)
- Wonce Again Long Island (3:39)
- Dinninit (4:21)
- Brakes (4:06)
- Dog Eat Dog (3:38)
- Baby, Baby, Baby, Baby, Ooh Baby (2:08)
- Long Island Degrees (3:27)
- Betta Listen (4:27)
- Itzsoweezee (Hot) (4:48)
- 4 More (4:18)
- Big Brother Beat (3:42)
- Down Syndrome (3:04)
- Pony Ride (5:27)
- Stakes Is High (5:30)
- Sunshine (3:38)
Apple Music
Videos
De La Soul - Intro Official Audio
More Videos
- De La Soul - Supa Emcees Official Visualizer
- De La Soul - The Bizness Official Audio ft Common
- De La Soul - Wonce Again Long Island Official Audio
- De La Soul - Dinninit Official Audio
- De La Soul - Brakes Official Audio
- De La Soul - Dog Eat Dog Official Audio
- De La Soul - Baby Baby Baby Baby Ooh Baby Official Audio ft Jazzyfatnastees
- De La Soul - Long Island Degrees Official Audio
- De La Soul - Betta Listen Official Audio
- De La Soul - Big Brother Beat Official Audio ft Mos Def
- De La Soul - Pony Ride Official Audio ft Truth Enola
- De La Soul - Stakes Is High Official Audio
- De La Soul - Sunshine Official Audio
- De La Soul - Stakes Is High Official Music Video HD
- De La Soul - Stakes is High Full Album 1996
- De La Soul - Down Syndrome Official Audio
Release Images
Release Information
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia URL | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stakes_Is_High |
| Format | Vinyl 2× LP Album Reissue |
| Label | Chrysalis |
| Catalog Number | RMM-054-1 |
| Notes | ℗ & © 2023 A.O.I., LLC under exclusive license to Chrysalis Records Limited Records housed in black poly lined inner sleeves. Recorded @ World Recording Facility by Guido Osorio except “Dinninit”, “Stakes Is High”, “4 more”, “Big Brother Beat”, “Sunshine” & “Itzsoweezee (Hot)” recorded @ Platinum Island by Tim Latham the “International Sound Pimp”. |
| Discogs URL | De La Soul - Stakes Is High |