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De La Soul have lasted 13 years in the rap game. And with the short shelf life of the genre, that may as well be 130 years. De La’s first album, 3 Feet High and Rising , is one of the greatest debut albums by any artist, and its positive outlook still sounds just as fresh today. The trio has labored under those expectations all these years, and started dabbling in hardcore rap styles to try and keep up with current trends. On AOI:Bionix , De La Soul finally sound comfortable in their own skin again. The trio allowed producer Dave West to handle much of the music for Bionix, freeing them up to focus on delivering some of their best raps since 3 Feet High. The fun gets underway with "Baby Phat," a sly tribute to beautiful black women in all figures and sizes. Even better is the lovely and simple "Simply," which uses Paul McCartney’s "Wonderful Christmastime" to great effect. It’s such a shock to hear an album this good from De La Soul this deep into their career. AOI:Bionix is the second in a planned trilogy of Art Official Intelligence albums — let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long for the third.
review by Steve Reynolds
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Figgle 2001-2007