Yo Claw, thanks for this breakdown. As always you come with a thoughtful retort. There's just something about the album that speaks to the time when it dropped. Meaning, those of us who were listening to this album when it was released seem to keep it as something special, it seemed to be that mature mid 90's album that we were all craving and that we could connect to. Plus, it was de la, and although I def think Buhloone was underrated... this just seemed like a crescendo.

>oh yeah, what was it that Common said that was deleted from
>his verse on "The Bizness"?


I never heard about this. curious though.



>(which goes without saying, my all-time favorite De La Soul
>album, and much like their debut, an instant classic)
>
>But then again, I remember so much more of this album, and out
>of the Native Tongue-related albums released in that time, I
>enjoyed this one the most.
>
>Largely because of the title track. I wasn't reading liner
>notes back then, but when that dropped, it was one of a number
>of songs that nailed what I was thinking about the world at
>that point and time, released as singles... AND it had a great
>beat backing it up to boot.
>
>If for anything, this was when De La Soul started to shed
>their "otherness" and even more of the esoteric nature of
>their look and their rhymes, and became a bit more "working
>class". I guess they were entitled, because they had been
>around for 7 years up until this point.
>
>"Supa Emcees" is just one of those songs I associate with
>getting up at the ASS CRACK of dawn to get up in the Volvo and
>do what I had to do during the day.
>
>Rocked the hell out of this tape.
>
>oh yeah, what was it that Common said that was deleted from
>his verse on "The Bizness"?
>
>So back to the "classic"-ness of this album:
>
>- is it one of the more essential rap albums of the year of
>its release? Certainly, if you were going to understand the
>"big divide" in thematic content that became even more
>pronounced this year.
>
>- is it one of those albums that contributes one or more songs
>to the artist's canon (i.e. songs that a lot of people know,
>regardless of their leanings)? I'd say yes. The title track
>got a good deal of play on MTV (and so did Jeru's "Ya Playin'
>Yaself", ironically) and BET. Though it's not "Me, Myself and
>I" level, I think if you said "De La Soul" to a rap fan who
>knows who they are, the song comes up in the discussion.
>
>- is it generally well liked within its discography? Not
>overwhelmingly, but many either got into De La Soul (late)
>though this album, or welcomed it.
>
>Hmm. Maybe is it a classic after all.


lurkin since 1999. werd.