TEAM RNS PRESENTS

ARTIST: De La Soul

TITLE: Buhloone Mindstate

LABEL: Tommy Boy

1hr 07min total- 64.9mb

RELEASE DATE: 1993-00-00
RIP DATE: 2004-05-02

06 Long Island Wildin'            1:53
07 Ego Trippin' (Part 2)          5:36

12 In The Woods                   5:26

14 Dave Has A Problem...Seriously 1:10

The last album of De la Soul's creative
prime, Buhloone Mindstate was also their
last with producer Prince Paul. After the
claustrophobic De la Soul Is Dead,
Mindstate is a partial return to the
upbeat positivity of 3 Feet High and
Rising, though not its wildly colorful
invention. Instead, Buhloone Mindstate
takes a calmer, more laid-back approach
the music is often more introspective,
and the between-song skits have been
jettisoned in favor of a tighter focus.
The surrealism of Buhloone Mindstate's
predecessors has largely evaporated, and
the production, while still
imaginative, doesn't quite dazzle the
way it used to. Then again, it's
admirable that the group is trying to
mature and progress musically, and they
would never experiment quite this
ambitiously again. There's quite a bit
more live instrumentation here, with
extensive, jazzy guest work by the JB
Horns. In fact, the guests threaten to
overpower the first half of the album;
"Patti Dooke" and "I Be Blowin'" are
both extended showcases for the horns,
and the latter is a full-fledged
instrumental led by Maceo Parker. They're
followed by a group of Japanese rappers
on "Long Island Wildin'," and it isn't
until the terrific single "Ego Trippin',
Pt. 2" that De La really takes over. Many
of the record's best raps follow: the
reflective old-school tribute
"Breakadawn," the jazzy "I Am I Be"
and "In the Woods," and the Biz Markie
collaboration "Stone Age." If Buhloone
Mindstate is a great deal more
straightforward than De La's earlier
work, its high points are still
excellent and well worth the time of any
fan. In fact, many De La diehards feel
that this album is hugely underrated