3 Feet High and Rising

Some bangers, some mid

pretty fun album 3 is the magic number

This was a ride. Really fun. The Magic Number, Eye Know, and Treading Water are favorite tracks, but unlikely to revisit the album as a whole.

Quite nice, cool songs but nothing I would hear everytime

not a huge fan of soul

Slaps hard, interesting move to call it an album I have to listen to before I die though

Чуваки читают о доброй дружбе, вкусной еде и твоей маме 6/10

It’s fine mid 90s hip hop none of the tracks are super great,i dont think im Eber going to revisit this album.

Very good - repetitive. Can see how it influenced 90s rap

I hated it and loved it at the same time. Solid 3

decent album but not really my taste? felt like rating this a 75 on aoty.org but the average score made me rethink it. i’ll have to relisten to this album, while reading all the lyrics next time. it’s annoying to have to keep genius open in a different tab for that. desperately need spotify to start showing lyrics again!

Quirky and kind of fun. Listenable, but not standout.

1989. I was a freshman in high school. I don’t remember this album, and as an almost 50 year old, one definitely has to be in the mood for it. I like it, but I’d like it better if I had time to listen in a better setting.

Classic early american rap

Rap progresivo. Ni fu ni fa.

Un 3 porque Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge) me ha hecho gracia. Si no ...

Fun, interesting exploration of early mixing.

6.5/10 Clever, creative, dry Highlights: - Transmitting Live from Mars - Eye Know - Tread Water - This is a recording

I really like the hip hop beats - derry girls style. Less of a fan of the nonsense rapping - its a vibe but maybe not for an hour straight. I also really like the frame device of the gameshow, but the noises at the end of the orgy track - well lets just say im infinetely glad for headphones

I wasn’t feeling it at the time. I’ll have to give it another chance.

Awesome album for it's time, but I can't imagine listening to this again.

7/10 fave: me myself and I

Wish I could give this 3.5, I love this style and era. Really fun album. I’ll give it some more solid time.

This was just ok for me. The singles are fun but the rest ranged from meh to obnoxious.

Lots of cool ideas and samples and beats, but tooooooo long. Literally cut it in half and you’d have a top tier album

Samples kings in their best work. Inventive and original album, a brave movement in an era of gangstas and naughty hip hop machos

Good classic album, good songs.

Smart and fun.

Good

This was fun and had some solid stuff. Despite not being much of a rap/hip hop fan, i enjoyed it.

A good hip hop album. Liked a few tracks but probably wouldn’t listen to the full album in one go.

Not quite my thing. But fun

estuvo bueno pero se hace largo. 6.5/10

Fun rhythms, cool atmosphere, groovy style, but otherwise underwhelming and outdated. I felt like I was listening to soundtrack from "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", but with no emotional baggage towards the series. Lyrics weren't especially interesting and I was slowly losing interest in the song as it went on. Interesting piece of trivia, but not a band I will remember for their music.

Good,but samples & daises

okay but not for me

Noice. Long enough for the novelty to wear off but that's fine. Much better than what I expected from this time period. Magic number/5

Yes but less skits next time please

Pretty mellow East coast vibes. A little punchy at moments, but never really reeled me in. 3.5

Good quality hip hop from the golden age always interesting to hear stuff before gangster rap took over. Goes on a bit though in places and the quiz show skit was a bit odd.

Not at all my thing To me, just standard rap, nothing special

aight, chachacha por los tetas salio de aqui

3 is the magic number and also the rating of this album. It was fun and I get why people like it so much.

Some good parts, lot of creativity

Je me suis retrouvé aussi désorienté que Sinclair à la Nouvelle Star lorsqu'il réalisait à chaque début de prestation que ça n'allait pas être de la funk. Car c'est tout sauf de la soul. C'est du préhistorique-rap.

J'ai oublié de parler de cet album, ça tombe bien je n'ai pas grand chose à en dire.

Hiphop not being my most favorite genre, there were definitely enjoyable somgs on the album

EHHHH some parts were a little more than weird to listen to at work. It wasn't bad. Even with the longer runtime, it didn't feel long and the skits weren't awful.

I like it, I like it. But “Me, Myself and I” is track twenty?? Twenty?!? Mannn, that takes way too long to get to, imo. Detrimentally too long. Really loved “Eye Know,” which isn’t a tune I was familiar with and I had fun with their spin on “The Magic Number.” (PSA: if you haven’t heard Blind Melon’s version of that song give it a listen! It’s sweet.) But, gents, there’s too much here that I could easily push to an outtakes album and I think we’d be left with a blessedly shorter and better collection of tunes. “Take it Off,” is a prime example. Don’t need it. Ditto the one about dandruff. Sorry dandruff song, you’re going on the outtakes album. But I also recognize that is just the playbook for a lot of these hip hop albums. To my ears I hear bloat and entirely forgettable, unnecessary interludes. Other ears are obviously a lot more forgiving and I probably just need to get over it. In the meantime, I’ll be here messing up the curve.

Fun goofy (in a good way) hip hop Great, great vibes More hip hop should take after this record

While I know music critics have a hard-on for this album, I found it to be just okay 90s rap. I'm probably missing some cultural significance or something.. All said the album is an enjoyable listen front to back held together by a game show concept that make up the intro and various interludes. The album starts strong with The Magic Number showing off the skills of the 3 MCs. Otherwise most songs are fine, but forgettable with a few exceptions. Me, Myself, and I is a jam, and Buddy is my personal favorite probably because Q-Tip steals the track. Only other memorable song is Can U Keep A Secret which is an interesting commitment to a concept -- whisper spoken word exposing "secrets" about different people. At the end of the day I like this album just fine, but don't understand the hype of De La Sould. 3 / 5

Enjoyed more tracks than I thought I would, as brought some memories back from that era. Not my bag, but glad I spent an hour giving it a listen!

It’s better than I expected. Some of the singles are excellent.

Lots of groovy/sampled tunes, another listen is needed as I didn't pay too much attention but has potential to be a 4/5. 3.5 rating upon first listen.

This was a cool hip hop album that differed entirely from what became popular in the 90s. These guys are almost entirely clean, funny, and witty. Their lyrics and stories are comical and yet they have the ability to make clever rhymes. The drawback on this album are the skits and some of the songs are less entertaining. There are a few songs that are great that would be replayed. For 23 songs this album did move pretty quickly too. 6.7/10

That's a mix of 4-score songs in the beginning with some 2's and 1's in the end. That's why "Three that's the magic number"

I don't know. I mostly liked the instrumental layer, but vocals and spoken intermissions were simply annoying. While in the beginning I could just concentrate on nicer parts, by the end the irritation definitely took over. 2,5/5

I like it when music is more funky.

Helt ait 3.5

This was an alright listen although it got a bit samey in the end. I really liked the two singles. Overall 3*

I'd somehow never really listened to De La Soul. This was great! Like what I was always promised with A Tribe Called Quest, but much more satisfying to me. Loved the one that mixed up Peg and Sitting On The Dock. I understand it's pretty brand new on streaming too so that's neat.

I'd have loved to have been alive when this album dropped, it represents a piece of Hip Hop History that is so radically different to what we get today that it's very refreshing. It's also just nice to listen to songs where it's not all about shooting someone and getting bitches which is also a nice change. Highly influential to what came after it you can tell that it inspired plenty of music because a lot of the songs here are uhh....well they're something alright. There's like 20+ tracks in this thing and a lot of them are dedicated to just them shooting the shit which is funny and it's nice to listen to something upbeat and trying to make you vibe with the song and make you laugh too. One of the songs randomly has one of the members doing an Italian impression like lmao what? While I appreciate what they go for I do have to admit I probably won't return to the album as a whole, all the songs have good beats and they definitely can rap. I just find a lot of it memorable more so because they chat shit rather than the songs actually being great. I think the two exceptions to this are Ghetto Thang because the beat is so smooth and Tread Water which impressively makes a catchy tune out of a guy seeing a crocodile or something. The album is a little corny but there's a lot to like here if you don't mind your hip hop being a little less serious. It's just a lot of fun isn't it?

Lots of samples and funky beats, with a very positive vibe that was quite different to where most of the gangsta rap was heading in the 80s and 90s. With lots of samples and various soundscapes, and conceptually was completed with game show segments interspersed between tracks. Interestingly it's been described as the first psychedelic hip-hop record. Best: The Magic Number Worst: De La Orgee

Finalmente um disco de rap fluiu bem, apresenta melodias com climas turvos que não incomodam.

It would benefit from being a little shorter; maybe remove the interstitial tracks, but it is a significant album in hip-hop.

pas mal mais bon

not my kind of hip-hop but I enjoyed and saved a few tracks and appreciated the producing and pacing of the record.

I wanted to like this album a lot more than I ended up doing so. Good production value and fun enough lyrics, but it never felt remarkable to me throughout the album. Favorite track: Eye Know

Few more songs in there than I expected. Some catchy, some very telling of their age.

Meget funky beats og samples. Med rap. Sketches er unødvendige. En del af numrene ikke så catchy igen. Minder lidt om Gorillaz.

Nao sou muito de hip hop mas ate que foi maneiro. Referencia ao 3 is the magic number pelo Ted Lasso! Altos gemidos desnecessauros tho

Mostly good. Influential but very dated.

Upbeat and poppy

Weird but good

Fun. Long. Good stuff, won't seek it out again tho, maybe.

Not my jam. A little to silly. I get real tired of drum loops.

-intro is HILARIOUS -the magic number is SO FUN -im loving this so far -i had a feeling it would be fun because of the album art but i LOVE it -favorites: magic number, eye know, say no go -change in speak is more chill -going back to the gameshow bit in the intro is SO FUNNY -idk if this is something i’d listen to all the time but its genuinely so much fun to listen to

de la soul's 3 feet high and rising is not your typical rap or hip hop! this album was released in 1989 and had an incredibly different tone in comparison to other rap and hip hop that was released at that time. truth be told, i think it still stands out from today's rap and hip hop! de la soul is playful in their lyrics and topics. i mean, who else would sample "magic number" from school house rock or a nursery rhyme?! or create some seventies game show as a running gag? de la soul's daring dissent is charming and admirable. yet it isn't always fun and games: they make sure to cover societal issues like many rap groups at this time. not limiting their music, sampling from a variety of genres or unusual sources--this formed the respect i have for this group and album! 3.5

Considering the direction that hip hop and rap was going at this point into the 1990s, this is really quite different than a lot of what was coming out of the genre at this time. The music found here when compared to other rap albums of the time is generally more progressive, sometimes jazzy, and definitely a bit psychedelic in parts (no surprises there given the album cover). The lyrics are also generally much less violent than a lot of the rising era's gangsta rap. While this has been a less traveled road in hip hop, this album definitely sent a message to hip hop artists that going more "artsy" with their craft is okay, too!

some real hidden gems in here, the talking "songs" kinda throw off the flow but overall unique and fun

Not really my cup of tea. I grew up as a new waiver but fell in love with l l cool j... This album is certainly listenable. I need to let it breathe and give it more time but I do like the back beat and the groove that comes along

not gonna revisit, it's dope

This was tough to rate, i liked it, yet also disliked it.

Not really interested in the skits, couple songs with really no point, a little long, many good songs though

It's soft enough to accept.

Pretty good for old school hip-hop but kinda redundant

Props to these guys for doing something different. 3 Feet High and Rising is fun, inoffensive, soulful, and bright - much like the floral album cover. Once again it suffers from being so long that you start to tune out during the weaker songs (a signature of hip-hop records, as it seems), but every so often it pulls you back in with a funky track or a weird lyric. Standout tracks are Jenifa Taught Me, Say No Go, and Me Myself & I.

Good groovy hip-hop. A nice listen with a lot of good samples. Not sure if it is something I will listen to again but I liked it.

couple of bangers but on the the general vibe is particularly uninspiring. would fit right in with 2023s glasto lineup.

3.75 I just can't give it a 4

Fun and upbeat hip-hop. Not my usual thing, but this was a pretty fun listen.

A great album. Loads of fun, such classics and the skits might even actually be funny, depending on my mood.

Fun album, saved a number of songs to an old-school hiphop playlist but that's only about a quarter of the tracks the rest didn't hit the mark for me overall it was ok.

Debuutalbum van Amerikaans hiphop trio De La Soul. Album is een luchtige breakaway van gangster rap met komische ondertonen. Door de variatie van de nummers en samples is 3 Feet High and Rising een van de betere hiphop albums. leukste nummer: Me Myself and I De titel van het album is een reference naar het nummer "5 Feet High and Rising" van Johnny Cash. In "The Magic Number" wordt een sample van dit nummer gebruikt.

Forgettable af

The number of feathers on a Perdue chicken can vary depending on the size and breed of the chicken. On average, a chicken can have around 8,000 to 10,000 feathers. The number of fibers intertwined in a Shredded Wheat biscuit can vary depending on the size of the biscuit. However, a typical biscuit may contain around 80-120 strands of shredded wheat. "Tuhs eht lleh pu" is a sentence that has been reversed. When read backwards, it reads "up hell the shut," which does not have a clear meaning or context. It's unclear how many times the Batmobile caught a flat tire, as this would depend on the specific iteration of the Batmobile and the stories in which it appeared. However, the Batmobile is generally depicted as a highly advanced and durable vehicle, so flat tires would likely be rare occurrences. 7/10 Highlights Eye Know Buddy Description

The music on this album has such a fun, positive and restless creative energy. Every song has a ton of different samples mashed together like a collage. This was no doubt a major leap forward for hip-hop production. But the album can feel a little too restless for me. There are so many skits and interludes and joke tracks that I can find it a bit hard to get into. And while the music is inventive and playful, I find the rapping underwhelming.

De La Soul to me are THE sound of funky rap in the 1990's. As soon as I hear a few seconds of their music I am brought back to the 1990s and watching movies / TV / commercials, and hearing them on the radio. They are inherently tied to that decade for me and really provided a backdrop to many moments of my youth. Unfortunately they have never really been an act that I would put on myself. Their sound is great but it's pretty specific, and not necessarily a universal sound that I would reach for often. It's a solid 3/5 record for me. Maybe a 3.6/5 but not quite high enough for a round-up.

okay rap album, interesting in its variety.

FUN (drie en een halve ster)

Þvílík nostalgía! Mikið pepp og mikið stuð!

Cat: definitely laid foundations for hip hop. Silly lyrics, I like that. Great groove.

Not bad

3.5

They went for "simple but next level" stuff and kinda made it.

I value the attitude of these musicians: unconventional, positive and honest. However, I am not really grabbed by most of the songs, even big hits like Me, myself and I.

This is a certified classic of the genre, but it is bloated with too much unnecessary skits and just plain awful songs. I think the sample usage was revolutionary for it's day, but I prefer less recognizable, more deep cut samples personally. Still, plenty of fantastic music. 🦶🦶🦶

2.5 Too much silliness for my liking

Pretty solid rap, especially for 89, the flow feels way head of the game. The skits were super cringey though. Could've trimmed a few of the shorter tracks too. But good verses on the main tracks

Yes

As someone who is very much not a fan of hip hop, I was able to listen to the entire album (despite it's length) and even found it interesting at times. Turns out that ditching the forced gangsta shtick and using interesting samples and instrumentation really helps.

3 instante classics. Rest sounds unrefined

trop longggggggarrfh

je suis superficielle ( je juge un peu les albums a leur couverture)

Nothing to really remember.

Not a lot of songs of this available on the internet so it's tough to rate it fairly

Kind of disappointing. Eye Know is such an amazing song but the rest was way stranger than I expected and not in a good way. It’s a fun sound when they’re rapping by altogether this didn’t do much for me.

It is a hip hop album. I was not familiar with any of the songs. It was a pretty good album. Not sure I would seek it out to listen to again but if it was playing I would listen.

Rap from the time before it became foul mouthed, mysogynist, violent and unpleasant. This is relatively tuneful, albeit sampled from other people's music. Sampling was new at the time and seen as innovative by simpletons who couldn't spot that it was papering over a lack of creative talent. Hence, it isn't on Spotify yet because they don't have the necessary clearances. But I'll be generous, because at least they were pioneers in the genre.

I'm not a hip hop fan but this is pretty good as far as the genre goes. Hard to find a way to listen to it though! 3 stars.

Cool

En oikein tiedä löytyikö Youtubesta oikea playlisti täksi levyksi? Jos näin on niin onhan näiden biiseistä sämplätty aika paljon muuta matskua tai toisinpäin. Letkeä tunnelma.

Managed to find a bit over half the album on youtube. Lots of skits - I understand this may have been one of the first albums to do it, but MEH, SKITS. The rapping has that childish 80s vibe to it, overall feel of rap you could play at a primary school disco. A lot of gushing reviews, which doesn't quite match up with what I heard. Not bad by any stretch, but definitely not the masterpiece its wikipedia page and half the reviews here suggest it is. Maybe that's just because it wasn't that popular in Australia - although I have a feeling it's more because its positive messages appeal to pussies. It's nowhere near as good as Ice-T or NWA, but they'll fire this into space before either of them in case the aliens are offended by song titles such as "Straight up Nigga" and "Fuck the Police". haha. 3/5. On a cool note, wikipedia says anyone getting this album after March 2023 will be able to just listen on Spotify.

Wasn't a big fan when I first listened so I wasn't really bothered to relisten. I think this album has a lot of filler but at it's peak it's some great early jazz/conscious rap. De la orgy didn't have to exist though. 7/10

Sadly not on Spotify but caught parts of it on Youtube. This is iconic with the hits and inbetween inventive and quirky samples and light-hearted rap. This is good to listen to.

It's a decent listen. Probably won't be going back for a bit.

Quite a bit of variety here... though there are plenty of skit or throwaway songs that would make me just want to skip them if I listened to the album multiple times. The more fully developed tracks have cool samples and an interesting style. Though I don't really enjoy this style much, it is pretty interesting.

Lots of fun when it first came out…still fun.

Hip-hop suave de los 80, con predominancia de sintetizadores y mismas bases. Le falta algo de ritmo más intenso, por eso se escucha bien. Desconocido en su totalidad

Not on apple music

I have mixed feelings about this album. There’s some classic stuff on here like “The Magic Number”, “Ghetto Thang”, “Potholes in my Lawn” and “Plug Tunin” but some of the tracks haven’t aged as well. The gameshow skit is funny and does add a nice bridge in between a few of the songs. Also, some interesting samples from Schoolhouse Rock to Steely Dan to Hall and Oates. After two listens though it doesn’t grab my attention enough to give it more than 3 stars. I think this album is a great example of one of those albums that if you got into it when it came out and it was part of your life for years, you might be inclined to call it a classic. For a new listener though I can't say the same. Maybe if I come back to it more often I might end up giving it a 4 or more.

actually not bad

Lots of novelty, not interested in repeat listens though

Really unique and entertaining album by some fun personalities. The sampling here is unlike anything we'll ever see again because of the time period and it's a cool time capsule to hear.

6/17, 35%

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut album by American hip hop group De La Soul. This is a critically & commercially successful album that is consistently placed on lists of greatest albums of all time, and it was also picked for the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2010. Released at a time when Gangsta rap was on the rise into hip hop mainstream, this album is a polar opposite that spouts positivity and humor. As a result, this album is considered one of the first alternative hip hop or progressive rap albums. This was also probably the first hip hop album to include skits on it, as a way to introduce the album or act as interludes between tracks. 3 Feet High and Rising was a fun album to listen to, and I enjoyed hearing classic rap songs that had less of an emphasis on hardcore or gangsta ideologies. Nothing wrong with Gangsta rap, but it was nice to hear something different from the late 80's/early 90's.

Very playful old school rap album. The fun is infectious. Found it to be a bit too much skit but I did really like all the music tracks. Eye Know is a masterpiece.

Shame this wasn't on Spotify. Ran a little long, but seemed inventive and fun for it's time. I only know if them randomly from their 2000s output but I'd venture to say this is the better version of them.

An enjoyable album, but probably not one I could put in heavy rotation.

very silly. 3 is the magic number is a bop. everything else is meh

Unique pastiche of sounds.

Despite not being a hip-hop head, I have heard a few of these songs before, specifically Magic Number. Aside from that, I only knew De La Soul from their features in Gorillaz (insert laughing guy). It's a bit annoying I can't listen to any of this on spotify aside from the intro skit, meaning I will forget about this in a few weeks. It's a decent album and while I only liked a few songs, I can appreciate the wide range of samples used which makes some interesting music. It's a good experience to listen in full.

Energiek en vrolijk.

Gentle hip hop, nostalgic fun, correctly famous, but not quite as amazing as I remembered.

I'm guessing that this is probably the most accessible and fun hip hop record on the list. Its refreshing that every second word isn't mofo or the N word. Their sample of Steely Dan's Peg on Eye Know was probably one of the most seamless mashups ever and Jenifa taught me is also a ton of fun.

Pretty good. Not the best stuff coming out of the 80s. Honestly, I liked it better back then. Still like it, just not as much.

I liked it

It’s fun, but I really expected to like it more. It starts off really fresh and exciting but by the second half it gets a bit samey to my ears, musically at least. I’d like to give it another chance but maybe in smaller chunks rather than slogging through the whole thing again. Cool that it invented the ‘skit’, though I guess that means it’s got a lot to answer for, too…

Like the playfulness of this album quite a bit, but I feel it lacks focus. No single track stood out for me. Not being on Spotify didn't help the experience.

I can appreciate the playfulness and almost cute messaging, but it's a bit all over the place. I absolutely hate the skits and overall it's a bit long, but I can see the appeal.

Daisy age hip-hop. Gone is the macho posturing and in comes a more hippy/happy vibe - don't let that put you off though. Great samples, great flow exist herein. Though big on skits (I'll never get skits) that sound like a game show, they doesn't detract from the overall quality of the album. Best Tracks: The Magic Number; Eye Know; Me Myself and I

44 minutes in 😳

good shit, It's just inconvenient to listen to (not on spotify) and so it's just annoying to figure out, meaning I didn't listen to it a shit ton, so I don't feel like I can really give it a fair score

Ehh

Really fun and really creative. Kind of quirky. Sort of a hip-hop version of Joe's Garage, complete with the weird framing device. I don't usually like hip hop but enjoyed this one. Note it's not on Spotify.

Some great tracks, but others felt dated

Can’t find on streaming

Syns da va ganske nice

A very cool album that obviously had a big impact on hip hop going forward, but not one of my all time favorites. I would be interested to know if this was the first use of the word "scrub" in pop music.

In the middle of my second play through now. Stream of consciousness first impressions - Pretty solid album - Obviously sounds a little dated being over 30 years old but holds up - Enjoy most of the songs and not wanting to skip any - Windows down cruising music or background bbq music - Some pretty good use of samples and a lot of them are recognizable, not altered that much I’m leaning 3/5 right now, solid album and can see how it had an impact at the time. Probably not adding to my main rotation

Heard a few songs before, overall was very fun liked it a lot

Fun.

Fun tracks, love the samples

As an early and fairly distinct sound and style in rap/hip hop, I think this belongs on the list. The album is interesting. The way they build their songs is interesting. But I also think this is a rather flawed album overall.

2/5

I know was early days for this style of music but I still can't really get into it and don't think it aged all that well. Very representative of the times.

mais um q me decepcionei. pior q ri bastante com a intro, mas o album inteiro é gimmicky, com piadas ruins e uns beats cartoon. nao é meu tipo de rap nota 4,0

eh

Very samey.

Not the best at all

Why am I on videocsll with thr people they are not showing there music you can probs listen to it by the normal but thats too much time ill just give it 2 just incase

its okay

I cannot say I hate it, because I don't hate it. But I feel this was very rap as a rock before the genre became a diamond later on.

A confusing experience. I come into this not being a fan of hip hop in the slightest. But there's some beats and themes here that make listening quite enjoyable. The comedic elements also make for a fun time. But there's one giant elephant in the room. What on earth is De La Orgee doing here? It is so out of place, that it actively makes the rest of the album worse.

I don’t know what I was expecting out of this, what is quite literally the first hip-hop album I’ve ever listened to, but it was not a quiz show with utterly bizarre questions. Now, that said, I also don’t know where to come from in terms of considering *3 Feet High and Rising* as a document. There’s a lot to appreciate here; there’s the little flashes of recognition from the samples, the rhythm and the wordsmithing, the meter and the message. The way that De La Soul is clearly just having a load of fun making this album. On the other hand, there’s ‘De La Orgee’. I know I have a tendency to write a lot about these albums, but I just… This is difficult for me. I really don’t know where to even start to approach this. I’m hearing a few of the same messages that are in the Curtis Mayfield albums that came up last week, especially around drug use and how that ends up wrecking lives. I can absolutely get behind that, and the rhyming and meter isn’t as obnoxious as some of the people around me might think. And then there’s ‘De La Orgee’. There’s a recurring thread about daisies, D.A.I.S.Y. Age, the positive pushback against the negativity that fills so much of the gangsta rap style around this time, the need to bring out what’s inside yourself rather than what the dominant culture pushes as the view to put out there. And that’s absolutely a great message. But also, there’s ‘De La Orgee’. I honestly don’t know that I’m going to come back to this album. I mean, it’s not bad. I can see myself enjoying albums with the same positivity behind them. I like the way these guys are absolutely pushing back against what a lot of folks think hip-hop is. But I really don’t know what to make of ‘De La Orgee’ being shoved in the middle of everything else, right before a song about phalli. Sorry, De La Soul, but even if I like the messaging, that pair of tracks drags things down pretty significantly. Gonna have to give this one a 4.5/10, so it gets two stars. Alas.

wanted to like it but just couldnt. quite overstimulating. an extroverts wet dream

sooo happy this is more recentish, not my style j seems like talking wo insane melodies.

meh

Dziwna płyta.

Whomever had the idea that hip hop albums in the 90s needed 'intro' tracks and little story skits scattered throughout has a lot to answer for. Lauren Hill nearly got away with it, but her songs were much better and bought a little leeway. Why a band with a one hit wonder novelty song about an answering machine ends up on a list like this is baffling, especially when when it isn't even on this album. Some decent beats and a bit of fun but there is much better around (start with Arrested Development).

Not for me

I've heard the name De La Soul and it looks like I have 1 song liked by them - "Say No Go" on this album. I don't remember when, where or why I heard that and clicked like on it. Thoughts after listening 3 times.. Uh oh, 23 songs over an hour - is this going to be lots of filler?? 1st song is a talking skit - ok yeah it seems like there is going to be a bunch of filler. I've decided as I go through this I'm gonna create a playlist with only the actual songs and just listen to those 3 times - so I'm not bogged down with the dumb skit stuff. Not sure why Spotify has 23 songs whereas Wikipedia shows 24. Oh well, I'll just review the 23 that are on Spotify. "Eye Know" is kinda fun - I think mostly because I know and like the Steely Dan song it samples. "3 Is The Magic Number", "Tread Water", "Me Myself and I", and "This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.)" - have a good groove. "Me Myself and I" has a Prince-like (1999 album era) keyboard sound. I ended up liking 6 songs (all the ones mentioned above), which will be a fun surprise when they pop up on my playlists. This is a new high for "# of songs liked on a hip hop album" from this project - progress! Liked songs on Spotify: 6/23 Rating: 2/5

Didn't float my boat

Not my style but at least I could understand the words in early rap

Hated the skits. Not a huge rap fan, but there were some good songs I enjoyed. 2/5 Still better than Getz/Gilberto. At least you could understand them.

It was. Okay. Not really my vibe. A lot of it reminded me of “Will Smith’s nice clean rap” and I couldn’t take it very seriously.

Honestly, as cohesive this album is, and how timeless people say it is, I don’t mess with this. It seems to drain on and on and I only enjoyed a few of the songs. The game show skits were fun, but the orgy skit wasn’t (at all like why would they put that in there???). Anywho, this album didn’t do much, and when it did it was either pretty good during a few times, it was very silly, quirky, and you could tell they had a lot of fun with it. Overall Score: Light 4

Skits....what is the deal with rappers and skits. And this one is long. The Cymande sample is in the 25th Hours scene when they walk into the club. I remembered De La Soul had goofy lyrics, Can U Keep a Secret maybe pushes the envelope too far. This album is not good enough for me to totally overlook numerous skits, found sound in French and a run time of over an hour. Eye Know has more listens than Me, Myself and I. That is insane. Take It Off is another one that is just befuddling. The non-song tracks are so annoying. The late 80s were the era of unfettered sampling. I'm not loving this album. Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend) is one of the better songs on the album. I would not have thought these guys would have a sex sounds skit. Dr. Dre, yes. De La Soul, no. Me, Myself and I is the best song on the album. This was a disappointing trip down memory lane. And it closes with the stupid sketch concluding.

Muah

Meh, hip hop muy de su época

Sorry what the fuck is the dandruff song? Lasagna heads? This is wild.

I struggled to get through this

Vamos a ver que es esto .

I kinda disliked it.

I have never really liked R&B but I thought this album was fun

Not my taste, I can't appreciate it as much as I wish I could. Seemed fun and playful.

Gente? Que visão diferente pro hiphop! Escutei meio confusa mas até metade do álbum gostei e entendi a vibe, com um ritmo diferenciado pro hiphop da época, foi algo que escutando, mesmo com diferentes sons hoje em dia, sinto estranhamento. Trouxe a inovação de contar histórias em faixas curtas com diálogos (pro que hoje em dia vemos artistas utilizarem MUITO) o que lembra estações de rádio! Achei divertido em alguns momentos por essa característica. Vi também que usaram muitos samples e que só em 2023 que foi lançado em plataformas oficiais (ah e eles são mais reconhecidos pela música Feel Good, participação em Gorillaz e risada e de um deles!). As faixas que mais curti foram “Ghetto Thang”, “Eye Know” e “Me Myself and I”. 3 Feet High and Rising me pegou de surpresa, desprevenida, não digo que foi uma boa escuta, escutei, estranhei, parei e voltei e só metade do álbum depois curti um pouco, mas nada que me faça exaltar o estilo ou jeito que foi feito, sinto que misturaram misturaram e saiu algo, mas não tão notável pra ser um álbum nessa lista.

I don't think I'd listen again, but I was surprised how much I liked it.

Like others who reviewed this, its a fun album. However, with how high it's rated I thought it would hit harder. It's more like a fun concert you'd go to once.

Classic hip/hop, I really don’t connect with this album

Det bliver nok aldrig et album, jeg rigtig kommer til at synes om. Og så kan det være på alle de Top 50-lister, det overhovedet har lyst til - det kommer aldrig på min. I min optik er det ikke engang deres eget bedste album. Der er selvfølgelig nogle bangers, flowet er undeniable og produktioner er generelt crazy - men det er også her, der simpelthen er noget ekstremt irriterende. For eksempel 'Tread Water': hvor er det enerverende at høre på det der *tread water*-sample, der kører i baggrunden. Der er sgu også nogle af de her interludes, der er så wack - Do as De La Does for eksempel. Overall er det desværre et album, der faktisk fjerner lidt interesse for De La Soul for mig - det tager mere, end det giver. Det er sigende, at det bedste nummer på albummet er Buddy, og det skyldes, at Q-Tip er med på nummeret. 2.3 do better

HipHop, Rap,1989->2

This album is not for me but I can understand why other people love it. It’s well done and fun, just not my genre.

Not my vibe, but I get that people love it

No es para mi simplemente Pd:aguante spidrrman

난 힙합이 싫어 노래라기보단 효과음?처럼 들으면 나름 들을 만함 17번째 트랙에선 교미하고 있어서 역시나 굉장히 불미스러움

Lot of ups and downs with this album. The skits didn't really hit for me at all, but then a good song. Then a bad song. Then a bad skit. Then good song. Repeat.

Not my style, could be worse had some decent beats though.

прифанкованный хип-хоп для подростков эры расцвета.жанра

It was okay

Sounds pretty actual given that is almost 40 years old. I can not give it more than two stars anyways I am sorry.

Meh

Larguísimo. Demasiado. Seguramente para la época muy importante. Hoy no me generó nada. 4/10

Hey guys! We RAP! and every line RHYMES! There's a song about HYDRATION! we were cool.... In our TIME Two stars. Won't listen to it again

I don't smoke weed. Maybe if I did then this would be alright.

Småtrevlig oldschool hiphop. Inget mästerverk men klart lyssningsvärt även om skivan kunde kortats ned en del. T ex borde naturligtvis skits vara förbjudna.

Det spelar ingen rollen för mig hur annorlunda de lät då i förhållande till annan hiphop. Det låter idag mest som trams som inte underhåller mig. Det först när jungle brothers och q-tip gästar som det lyfter något. Klart roligare än Dover, men ändå inte mer än godkänt.

It was fun, but didn't keep my interest.

I just couldn't get into this one, at all!

Rap. Long album. Listened with half my brain.

"The Magic Number" was ok, but the rest didn't do much for me...

Funky and fun… just not a genre I see myself coming back to again anytime soon.

Me myself and I is a major throwback to NCAA Football 2006!!

Wierd. I know these guys from the salmon song, and was not surprised by the children music sound to it, but then with the wierd sex stuff mod to late album it was a very strange combo. Don’t love it

Not my jam...

some fun stuff in here, but mostly forgettable. wont go back to listen to this. their samples are cool. 3 songs i really liked and stood out but everything else meshed together. 5/10

Listenable hip hop but once is enough

Um álbum importante da história do Hip-hop, porém dia bem datado. QoA Cloudscape.

Hip hop but sadly not quite as good as I wanted it to be.

Too many annoying skits but some classics on there

boh non mi ha fatto impazzire

Interesting. There were times where it was enjoyable but they were few and far between. It was cool to see Otis Redding featured on a hip-hop album though. 1.5 outta 5

There are so many special songs to me on this album but I would just go for those and probably not play the whole thing very often… I feel like there’s so much lore and imagery to explore in this and it’s a work of art but it’s also a lot of effort to listen to, like poetry. But tread water and a little bit of soap and three is a magic number are bangersssss

Thought it was okay - I like the first half better than the second. Gameshow element was fun.

Alright backing tracks but the vocals were just either bad or weird. Overall pretty mid.

A day after the Jungle Brothers was not the best timing. I was bored by the whole album, especially when considering the prior day with a freaking De La Soul feature (which was better than anything here).

Pretty meh. Like a joke album like Afroman? But not funny.

I find early hip hop just really boring, musically.

Not bad early Rap.

very overrated album, there is some absolute shit on this album, most notably take it off, there are far too many interlude type tracks on the album (a similar issue i had with mmm food) it breaks up the experience of listening a lit and gets very boring after a while standout tracks are: eye know, Say no go, Buddy the best tracks on the album are the tracks with features

wasn't a big surprise for me that the album left me unharmed but also unimpressed.

On the upside they don't take themselves too seriously, but ironically this is also an indicator of the album being disposable POP rather than something to be included on a 1001 greatest

I appreciated the variety in this album, too many tracks I would skip in repeat listenings though.

Ok, charming, not well mixed, meh for me

Not for me

mmmm its fine but a bit long, i was kinda fed up by the end

Pretty bad, somehow the only tolerable songs in this are collabs

Some fun ideas but -1 star for moaning noises for a track. What is the obsession with moaning noises in the albums on here jfc.

it’s okay, not really my thing. It’s basically just like three guys hanging out. I don’t think I’d listen to it again honestly.

A classic rap album where I never got the appeal. Prince Paul's sample collection is great, but the nursery rhyme candence, unfunny sketches, joke songs, and smug preachiness make it a tiresome experience for me.

At the risk of sounding like a miserable old git, this may be jolly and fun hip-hop for 10-year-olds but it's not terribly good is it?

Quite interesting in parts. A real mixture of styles. Some decent songs, but didn’t really make a big impression.

Very wacky, light-hearted, lots of fun, but not my thing.

2.5

Joo. Mut ei kuitenkaan.

Tää ei kyl iskeny, tuli liikaa mieleen will smith ja bel airin prinssi

Oli tässä ihan jänniä viritelmiä, mutta ei oikeen silti jaksa kuunnella.

Similar to Arrested Development review. I really like what they were trying to so. It’s different. Not your everyday rap, especially given the time it car out. Album is just a bit too long and all starts to sound the same. A few gems. But overall just below average. 2.75

I think the reason I didn't really 'get' this album is because I don't know much about 80s hip hop history. So I went in blind, and here's what I enjoyed: the sense of humor, and the vibey beats. It's a long album, so I listened to a lot of it while at my part time job, doing some inventory restocking. It's a good, kinda groovy (idk if that's the right word but it works i guess) album to do mindless physical labor to. I didn't really follow most of the lyricism but I loled at Can U Keep A Secret, and had to turn the volume waaay down on De La Orgee when I was at work lmao. I enjoyed this album for what it was, but it's not my personal style and probably wouldn't listen to it again tbh. 2.5 stars. That said, I was thinking today about this project, the '1001 albums generator'. One of the reasons I love this project is that listening to these albums in the context of knowing that these are all critically acclaimed and famously Good™ changes the way I listen to them. I consume them with a different set of ears than if I were to just hear it playing on the radio with no context. Kudos to the creator of this! <3

I thought this was a kids album. Not my type of music.

Much preferred to contemporary cypress hills and the melodies were much better.

It was ok, kind of repetitive

2+ Stars (6/15)

It was okay, not really My style. They did have a fun style tho

C'est le groupe de Feel Good Inc donc je m'attendais à de grandes choses mais j'ai été déçu voire j'ai pas kiffé... C'était peut-être un peu trop fait en mode rien à foutre pour moi :/

Some really fun and interesting songs on here if you can get through the irritating skits.

Meh

Gillade en del låtar. Mer intressant än vad jag tyckte det var bra. Lite plojjig bitvis.

High upbeat album, i really enjoyed it and would listen to it when studying or doing homework. Not the type of genre i would go for but definitely a great listen

J'aime bien, mais c'est pas ce que je réécouterait.

Barely funny.

Kind of boring

we do not need to hear someone having sex on an album there are other avenues for that, also half the songs are ok and the other half aren't good

It’s fine because it’s early era hip hop - I’m not really into hip hop though

Pre-pop hip hop. Nice blend of what was happening at the time, skits, samples, and rhymes, but doesn't rise to the level of Peoples Instinctive Travels, released the following year.

I get the significance, but this is goofy af

what if hiphop wasn't about fucking hoes and drugs? it would be very boring ig. every songs has 1 flow and it never changes

The cast of collaborators on this album is quite impressive. The music?...not so much.

Kinda a vibe. Kinda didn’t like it

Album was okay, not really my taste in music though. I liked the intro song though

Dispensável!

It's fun. The continuity and premise is great. The filler tracks are weak and it's held up by a couple of good songs.

It's fun but I didn't have to listen to this before I died

3 is the magic number is great. The rest not so much

Groovy grooves

Chillige Musik aber old school HipHop holt mich nicht so ab. Super, wenn es nebenbei irgendwo als Hintergrundmusik läuft aber ich würde es nicht für mich hören.

I like the band purely because of a few songs. That doesn't really make this album very good in 2025. It's a decent album in itself, which rolls in the background in its good mood without any special ups or downs. In other words, very flat for my taste.

This kind of easy-going rap has evolved a lot since the ’80s and ’90s. From my point of view, it’s still quite dull, so it doesn’t get many stars from me.

2.1 Is it fair to compare De la soul with a tribe called quest. I think im taking tribe 9 times out of 10

Got through most of this, but this brand of hip hop isnt my bag. Cool to read about the collaborations that theyve done and I suppose I enjoyed the Otis Redding song

Not my vibe

Some fun parts, but I'm not sure I would listen to this again. (2.5/5)

Is it sad that this music is said to be so groundbreaking and amazing. Music with repetitive beats and adolescent lyrics. I’m not impressed. But it is better than gangster rap.

Pour le coup je n’ai pas du tout accroché, je suis restée assez imperméable à cet album.

Skits are a miss. Some cringe bars, reminds me of a quote from a Donald Glover stand up: "Have you ever listened to rap back in the day? It’s always some dude being like: Well I went to the hat store today And I bought myself a hat Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Fave track: (3is) The Magic Number

Timeless this is not. It’s forever stuck in 1989. Back then it works great. Now, not so much.

Nenei, nid mini Musig u z viu Gschnur.

Fun and playful sound but I doubt I will ever come back to it

Couldn't get through. 6/10

I've never been a fan of comedy rap.