On July 2, 1996, De La Soul launched their fourth studio album, Stakes Is Excessive, a essential second within the trio’s legacy that marked each a inventive shift and a take a look at of their endurance in a altering hip-hop panorama.
For the primary time of their profession, the group, Posdnuos, Dave (aka Trugoy the Dove), and Maseo, parted methods with longtime collaborator and sonic architect Prince Paul, who had formed their first three LPs: 3 Toes Excessive and Rising, De La Soul Is Useless, and Buhloone Mindstate. That absence alone made Stakes Is Excessive a daring step into uncharted territory. As an alternative of collapsing below that strain, the group doubled down and took extra management of the manufacturing, with further assist from up-and-coming beatsmith J Dilla, who produced the title monitor and added his signature contact to the album’s soulful depth.
Whereas it didn’t high the charts, Stakes Is Excessive rapidly cemented itself as a cult basic; the sort of undertaking that will not have damaged mainstream data however has stood the take a look at of time. The album supplied sharp commentary on the commodification of hip-hop and the state of Black America within the mid-’90s, with no punches pulled. It was considerate, essential, poetic…all the pieces that made De La one of the vital revered voices within the tradition.
“Stakes is excessive, y’all know the vibe,” Pos spit on the title monitor…and he meant it.
Reflecting on the group’s longevity years later, Maseo summed it up: “I really attribute the longevity to our dedication as mates, whatever the disagreements at instances, in addition to our frequent purpose to be a gaggle within the custom of hip-hop… The reinventing grew to become a big a part of the longevity.”
With the tragic passing of Dave in 2023, Stakes Is Excessive now resonates even deeper. Not solely as a piece of lyrical brilliance however as a snapshot of three brothers standing tall of their reality, even when the business was shifting round them. A hip-hop basic, no query.
