Buhloone Mindstate by De La Soul
I don't often post links to clips but in this case I'm going to make an exception as it's available as a full album on youtube and it has a musical education aspect to it. For the nostalgics out there, this is a classic album which contains some extraordinary hip hop of a positive flavour and an exceptionally beautiful, dreamlike quality. For younger music lovers who may have never heard it before, this is late 20th Century, hand crafted, classic riff sampled, intellectual rap music from one of the giants of the genre. It's 25 years old and although a classic example of the sound Del La Soul pioneered (and were copied copiously) it still sounds fresh. I may extend these posts to some of my other favourites depending on what's available for listeners. FULL ALBUM BELOW
The third album from 1993 by De La Soul, produced by Prince Paul on the Tommy Boy label Bulhoone (balloon) is full of ideas, not least the aspiration of the band to reach out to a much wider audience without going 'POP' in the process.
Musical Evolution in process
The album received critical acclaim upon it's release, representing a more polished & evolved version of the De La sound, still referencing classic jazz hooks while incorporating spoken word / speech excerpts, ansaphone messages, ambient stereo sound recordings & a handful of guest inclusions including Dres, Biz Markie, Guru & Scha Dara Parr and Takagi Kan, prominent Japanese rap artists. The inclusion of Japanese language on the track Long Island Wildin was truly revolutionary and is a memorable moment, culturally expanding the perception and image of Hip Hop globally.
Under the Skin
Listen carefully and you'll also hear commentary on the wider politics of hip hop, black music, exploitation and personal morality & ethics. My favourite track, In The Woods has the timeless, magic quality of the eternal EarWorm and features Posdnuos' cousin Shortie No Mas a female MC who lends the album a very distinctive East Coast inflection, popping up in various places along the album I Be Blowing is a classic hip hop album interlude - instrumental track with Maceo Parker ( of James Brown - P-FUNK fame) playing Sax. I Love IT. This album is excellent and I highly recommend any junior producer to have a listen and learn. There is also some nice beatboxing on this album.