De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)

1. Intro

2. The Magic Number 3:14

3. Change in Speak 2:32

4. Cool Breeze on the Rocks 0:37

5. Can U Keep a Secret 1:40

6. Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge) 3:23

7. Ghetto Thang 3:35

8. Transmitting Live From Mars 1:11

9. Eye Know 4:12

10. Take It Off 1:52

11. A Little Bit of Soap 0:49

12. Tread Water 3:44

13. Potholes in My Lawn 3:47

14. Say No Go 4:19

15. Do as De La Does 2:06

16. Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend) 4:06

17. De La Orgee 1:12

18. Buddy (feat. Jungle Brothers & Q-Tip) 4:54

19. Description 1:30

20. Me Myself and I 3:40

21. This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E) 3:09

22. I Can Do Anything (Delacratic) 0:40

23. D.A.I.S.Y. Age 3:55

24. Plug Tunin' 3:43

An inevitable development in the class history of rap, they're new wave to Public Enemy's punk, and also "pop" rather than pop, as self-consciously cute and intricate as Shoes or Let's Active

You can hate on 3 Feet High for introducing skits to the rap album (WHY THE FUCK) but they work well here because of Prince Paul's busy anything goes production where flows, skits, sounds, sources, all flow into each other seamlessly yet confusingly as a bizarre, fresh yet nostalgic, kitsch, infinitely creative and detailed world/atmosphere- the kind people praise Since I Left You for- as De La Soul take the listener for a tour through or perhaps mislead and confuse more than anything with stories and strange jokes. I'm not sure I get the joke but I like hearing it any way. Whereas the group's later releases Buhloone Mind State and Stakes Is High are fan favourites because they've managed to stay fresh sounding despite the nature of hip hop being constant change and development, I prefer 3 Feet High because it sounds so dated. A few months after its release, the Dust Brothers would aid the Beastie Boys in producing Paul's Boutique which featured similar dizzying sample-heavy soundscapes before a lawsuit regarding sampling changed music forever (WHY THE FUCK), leaving this and Paul's Boutique as unique examples of late 80s hip hop culture because things had to change so rapidly after them. It's kitsch and it's dated, but I get a boner for albums that sound like collages, particularly when they're as fun and imaginative as 3 Feet High and Rising

A+