De La Soul has been spreading the good vibes since 1987. Hip-hop’s finest release And The Anonymous Nobody after a 12-year pause. Driven by cleverness and burning creativity kept under wraps since 2004’s The Grind Date, makes this one well worth the wait – and the styles… the many styles. And even more – the guests who line up to rock with De La is flattering. From the soulful to the hard edged and raw MCs – they get down with the trio that hs been “of The Soul” since The ’80s.
The album includes Usher, Pete Rock, Estelle, Snoop Dogg, Roc Marciano, 2 Chainz, Little Dragon and more. De La opens their lyrical madness over triumphant horns on “Royalty Capes”. They take us through the struggle of a faded love, maybe the struggle of the music business or both blessing us with the angelic voice of Estelle and ingenious poetics of Pete Rock on “Memory of….(US)”.
They break barriers with ambitious eccentricities that may leave you scratching your head when you listen to the grunge rock in “Lord Intended”. Song placement did not allow for solid flow it felt like I was shuffling through several albums, going from sultry smooth, head bobbin Hip Hop, to garage rock, heavy rock, an R&B feel, then back to Hip Hop with an 80’s twist. De La Sol delivers nonconforming greatness releasing an LP that is scattered throughout music genres proving they are still ahead of their time.
3.5 out of 5 Spots
Charli TermiKNOWLEDGEE
