Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump

Amazon.co.uk De La Soul's debut, 3 Feet High & Rising, marked them as one of hip-hop's most creative, innovative forces; they were immediately marked out as the creative leaders of the innovative Native Tongues family. Ever since, De La has fought that image: their second album was called De La Soul is Dead; their fourth, Stakes is High, found them taking on a more hardcore, aggressive sound. Eleven years after their debut, De La is the only Native Tongues posse still vital, and on Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump, they've got presence enough to call into question the entire De La mythos. Undeniably creative, the album takes its cues from mainstream hip-hop and R&B, meaning that plugs one (Posdunos), two (Dave, aka Trugoy the Dove) and three (Maseo) have now made as many albums as innovators as they have made as innovatees. For the first time, De La defer to their guest stars, letting them lead the way: on "My Writes", the vocal cues come from Xzibit and Alkoholics Tash and J-Ro, with Roots-style production; the fantastic single "Oooh" feels dominated by Redman, even if he only pops up on the choruses; "All Good", their collaboration with Chaka Khan, is clearly meant as a Erykah Badu-style collaboration; only the short, sample-heavy "Declaration", which recalls Buhloone Mind State's jazzy flow, feels like unadulterated De La. Still: this may not be your father's De La Soul, but it's still an album that they can be proud of. The production is mature and fun, with "Thru Ya City" giving off a great funk vibe, and plenty of flourishes that show a familiarity with the works of Swizz Beats, DJ Premier and Timbaland--though all filtered through the group's "been there, done that" experience. De La may no longer be producing landmark albums, but they're not ready to be relegated to the historical society themselves. --Randy Silver Product description International products have separate terms, are sold from abroad and may differ from local products, including fit, age ratings, and language of product, labeling or instructions.