Stakes Is High

Product Information

The song included many memorable lines such as Posdnous' " Gun control means using both hands in my land.

The album did provide a launching pad for future star rappers and actors Mos Def, who appeared on the track "Big Brother Beat" and Common who is featured on "The Bizness". I’m a beginner at this vinyl thing when it comes to assessing records but this sounds really good to my ears. At the end of track 15, "Pony Ride"—an excerpt from the documentary Crumb, in which Maxon Crumb discusses his struggle living on the streets, describing his periods of optimism and depression. Tip is playing this new beat for Pos from Dilla and based on the history that those two have, anytime Pos gave a head nod to some shit, Q-Tip ended up keeping the beat and try to make something out of it, so he tried to use reverse psychology on this particular one. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.In 2023, Billboard and Stereogum ranked the song number six and number two, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest De La Soul songs.

Here, they're no longer so self-conscious and it's easy to remember why you liked them enough in the first place to stick with them through the hard times.Super-Emcees"), skewer the industry ("The Bizness," with some help from that super MC, Common), and even shout out to their birthplace, Long Island, twice (on "Long Island Degrees" and the break-down-funky "Wonce Again Long Island"). Stakes Is High helped introduce rapper Mos Def to a wider audience, on the track "Big Brother Beat". Naughty By Nature member Treach also took serious offense at the record, creating a feud that only died down after about a decade and a half after Stakes Is High was released. I look back on people like that and think about how they had that moment of clarity, where they looked around them and at things decaying in their society–whether it’s music or life, that’s where “Stakes is High” was at. Stakes Is High deals with many topics, including the state of hip-hop, the commercialization of hip-hop culture, and criticism of gangsta rap.

All the tracks are as original from what I can hear, no edits which is too common with Hip Hop reissues.Dave's input was no less outspoken: "I'm sick of bitches shakin' asses / I'm sick of talkin' about blunts / Sick of Versace glasses / Sick of slang / Sick of half-ass awards shows / Sick of name brand clothes.