Buhloone Mindstate
Buhloone Mindstate | ||||
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Studio album by De La Soul | ||||
Released | September 21, 1993 | |||
Recorded | 1992-1993 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 48:14 | |||
Label |
Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records 01063 | |||
Producer | De La Soul, Prince Paul | |||
De La Soul chronology | ||||
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Singles from Buhloone Mindstate | ||||
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Professional ratings | |
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Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Christgau's Consumer Guide | A[2] |
Entertainment Weekly | A+[3] |
NME | 8/10[4] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [5] |
The Source | 4.5/5[6] |
Buhloone Mindstate is the third studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released in 1993 and was the group's last record to be produced with Prince Paul.
Overview
Title significance
Buhloone is a phonetic spelling of the English noun "balloon". This theme is laid out in the intro track, which starts with the sound of a balloon being inflated; then the hookline "it might blow up, but it won't go pop" is repeated over and over, until the sound of a balloon popping replaces the final word "pop". This lends itself to the interpretation that the group hope to expand their popularity with their third album without selling out.
Songs and guests
De La Soul continued the early 1990s experimentations with jazz by featuring jazz veterans Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, and Pee Wee Ellis, on "Patti Dooke" and "I Am I Be". The song "Patti Dooke" deals with what the group sees as the mainstream's efforts to control the direction of black music. Posdnous raps:
- I'm known as the farmer
- Cultivatin' mate without mendin'
- Bendin', compromising any of my styles to gain a smile
- Listen while you hear it
- There's no pink in my slip
- I reckon that the rhythm and the blues in the rap got me red
- While the boys from Tommy playing bridge crossin' to a larger community
- Yet they're soon to see I have a brother named Luck
The Japanese rappers Scha Dara Parr and Takagi Kan make an appearance on "Long Island Wildin'" while Biz Markie drops by on "Stone Age" and Guru makes a spoken cameo on "Patti Dooke" ("Peace to my man Premier''...So guard your trenches 'cause we runnin' through 'em. "). Dres of Black Sheep appears, and the album heavily features Shortie No Mass of Philadelphia. The album was preceded by the single and video "Breakadawn", which features samples from Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help it" and Smokey Robinson's "Quiet Storm."
Critical reception
At the end of 1993, Buhloone Mindstate was voted the eighth best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published by The Village Voice.[7] Robert Christgau, the poll's creator and supervisor, ranked it fifth best on his own year-end list.[8] In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone critic Paul Evans said the record was more focused than De La Soul's previous albums and also more ambitious sonically: "Musically, Buhloone Mind State raises the stakes; it gets to something rap seldom achieves — a truly gorgeous groove."[9] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock named it the 10th greatest hip hop record of all time in a list published by Rolling Stone.[10]
Track listing
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Intro" | 0:52 |
2. | "Eye Patch" | 2:27 |
3. | "En Focus" (featuring Shortie No Mass and Dres of Black Sheep) | 3:15 |
4. | "Patti Dooke" (featuring Guru, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis) | 5:54 |
5. | "I Be Blowin'" (featuring Maceo Parker) | 4:58 |
6. | "Long Island Wildin'" (featuring Scha Dara Parr and Takagi Kan) | 1:30 |
7. | "Ego Trippin' (Part Two)" | 3:52 |
8. | "Paul's Revenge" | 0:43 |
9. | "3 Days Later" | 2:39 |
10. | "Area" | 3:31 |
11. | "I Am I Be" (featuring Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis) | 5:03 |
12. | "In the Woods" (featuring Shortie No Mass) | 4:01 |
13. | "Breakadawn" | 4:14 |
14. | "Dave Has a Problem...Seriously" | 0:55 |
15. | "Stone Age" (featuring Biz Markie) | 4:13 |
List of samples
The following is a list of songs and sound footage sampled in the songs on Buhloone Mindstate.
Intro
- "Deep Gully" by The Outlaw Blues Band
Eye Patch
- "What?" by A Tribe Called Quest
- "Deep Gully" by The Outlaw Blues Band
- Old, unknown French-education recording (also used on "Transmitting Live from Mars" from De La's debut album)
En Focus
- "Nothing is The Same" by Grand Funk
- "Intimate Connection" by Kleeer
- "Atomic Dog" by George Clinton
- "Set It Off [Instrumental]" by Strafe
Patti Dooke
- "People Make the World Go Round" by Milt Jackson
- dialogue excerpts from The Five Heartbeats
- "Rock Box" by Run-D.M.C.
- "Word From Our Sponsors" by Boogie Down Productions
Long Island Wildin'
- "Ground Hog" by Duke Pearson
- "Rebel Without A Pause" by Public Enemy
I Be Blowin
- "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Lou Rawls
Ego Trippin' [Part Two]
- "Harlem Hendoo" by Al Hirt
- "Ain't No Half Steppin'" by Heatwave
- "(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)" by Beastie Boys
Paul's Revenge
- "Come In Out Of The Rain" by Parliament
3 Days Later
- "Love In The Streets" by Johnnie Taylor
- "Hot Dog" by Lou Donaldson
- dialogue excerpts from Deep Cover
- "I'm Afraid The Masquerade Is Over" by David Porter
Area
- "The New Rap Language" by Spoonie Gee & The Treacherous Three
- "I Call My Baby Pussycat" by Parliament
- "Come Dancing" by Jeff Beck
- "Smokin' Cheeba Cheeba" by Harlem Underground
- "Pee-Wee's Dance" by Joeski Love
I Am I Be
- "You've Made Me So Very Happy" by Lou Rawls
- "The Next Band" by Eddie Harris
- "Keep Your Fat Mouth Out Of My Business" by Snooky Pryor
- "Miracles" by Jefferson Starship
In the Woods
- "Track #13" by Maceo Parker
Breakadawn
- "I Can't Help It" by Michael Jackson
- "Quiet Storm" by Smokey Robinson
- "Song and Dance" by The Bar-Kays
- "Yes We Can Can" by The Pointer Sisters
Dave Has a Problem...Seriously
- "Something Else Again" by Richie Havens
Stone Age
- "Lonely Days" by Gregory Isaacs
- "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
- "A Little Soulful Tune" by Taj Mahal
- "Moondial" by Les DeMerle
Album singles
Single cover | Single information |
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"Breakadawn"
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"Ego Trippin' (Part Two)"
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References
- ↑ Huey, Steve. "De La Soul: Buhloone Mindstate > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert. "De La Soul". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
- ↑ Bernard, James (8 October 1993). "Buhloone Mindstate: De La Soul". Entertainment Weekly (#191).
- ↑ NME (London): 37. September 25, 1993.
- ↑ The new Rolling Stone album guide - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ↑ Johnson, Brett (October 1993). "Buhloone Mindstate: De La Soul". The Source: 67.
- ↑ Pazz & Jop 1993: Critics Poll
- ↑ Pazz & Jop 1993: Dean's List
- ↑ Evans, Paul (23 December 1993). "Buhloone Mind State". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ↑ "Chris Rock's Top 25 Hip Hop Albums". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
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