De La Soul Is Dead (1991)

De La Soul Is Dead is the second studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on May 14, 1991. The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on 3 Feet High and Rising was highly praised by music critics. The album was one of the first to receive a five-mic rating in the hip-hop magazine The Source, and it was also selected as one of The Source's "100 Best Albums" in 1998. The album's cover refers to the death of the "D.A.I.S.Y." (Da Inner Sound, Y'all) age, or a distancing from several cultures including hippies and mainstream hip hop.

In 2020, Rolling Stone placed the album at number 228 on their "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.

Music and lyrics

De La Soul Is Dead departed from the image that the group had fostered on their previous album, 3 Feet High and Rising. While De La Soul Is Dead retains the humorous approach of its predecessor, its humor is darker, featuring more biting parodies and a more cynical outlook. The album also attracted attention for its discussion of weightier topics, especially the portrayal of drug addiction in "My Brother's a Basehead" and the story of sexual abuse in "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa". Lead single "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)" has been seen as emblematic of the album's prevailing mood: the lyrics, where the group complains about being harassed by aspiring artists trying to ride their coattails, showcases the album's wearier attitude, while the production counterbalances that cynicism with a "playful post-disco groove". Other tracks on De La Soul Is Dead display a more fully lighthearted attitude, such as the summery, disco-influenced "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'", and the back-and-forth banter of "Bitties in the BK Lounge".

Reflecting on the album and its goals, producer Prince Paul has stated: We were trying to prove we weren't just a one-album act. And there was a lot of disillusionment with the music industry. When I listen to it now, the raps sound—shall we say—bitter?

Conversely, group member Posdnuos has argued that De La Soul Is Dead is not as cynical as its reputation suggests, telling The Guardian in 2025: The second album was still bright and fun. OK, the word 'dead' in the title doesn't help ... But we meant it to indicate we were transferring to another plane, that we were metamorphosing into older kids. We were just growing.

In 2008 the album was re-released on vinyl without the CD version's bonus tracks.

Title and cover art

De La Soul chose the title De La Soul Is Dead to emphasize their departure from their previous style. The group's separation from the "D.A.I.S.Y Age" imagery of 3 Feet High and Rising is visually demonstrated by the album cover, which shows a broken pot of daisies, as well as by the music video for "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)", which depicts a pot of daisies being smashed. Maseo has stated that the group's goal was "breaking the stereotype and the stigmatism that was put on us with the hippy concept when D.A.I.S.Y. just was an acronym for Da Inner Sound Y'all."

Skits

The album features a series of separate, ongoing skits, which parody old children's book-and-record read-along sets by utilizing a recurring bell sound that lets the reader know that it is time to turn the imaginary page. The introduction to the album features Jeff, a teenage character (introduced in the B-sides to "Eye Know" and "Me Myself and I": "Brain Washed Follower", "The Mack Daddy on the Left", and the rare "Double Huey Skit"). Jeff finds a cassette tape copy of a De La Soul album in the garbage. Bullies appear, beat up Jeff, and steal the tape. Ensuing skits feature these bullies harshly criticizing the songs on the album. Mista Lawnge of Black Sheep provides the voice of the lead antagonist called Hemorrhoid, P.A. Pasemaster Mase voices the second bully, while a third gets ridiculed and abused by Lawnge for his admiration of the album. In the end, they throw the tape back in the trash, exclaiming, "De La Soul is dead". The album also introduces a fictional radio station called WRMS that plays nothing but "De La Slow" music.