Over 25 Years Later, ‘Stakes Is High’ Keeps Its Many Gifts Low To The Ground
Released on July 2nd, 1996; De La Soul’s ‘Stakes Is High’ was born into this world at a very specific moment in time. One that, in retrospect, was probably not the most conductive to pulling in fresh eyes & ears. Especially considering the Native Tongues stalwarts had recently switched up their trademark Prince Paul production they were known for up to that point by, quite literally, taking matters into their own hands (for the most part).
When it was first released back in ‘96, ‘Stakes Is High’ flew under the radar compared to their previous releases due to a decidedly more subdued approach to both rhymes and production. Few tracks immediately jump out at you, begging to be played on major radio stations of the time.
Speaking of time. July ‘96 was smack in the middle of major releases that same year by The Fugees (The Score), Jay-Z (Reasonable Doubt), 2Pac (All Eyez On Me) and that’s before we even get to July. The day ‘Stakes Is High’ was released, it had to square up on the charts for real estate with Nas’ ‘It Was Written’. Throw in the fact that the NYC mafioso rap archetype was in full swing and De La Soul were somewhat left in the lurch.
Lucky for us, they were fully-aware of this fact.
Instead of the aforementioned mafioso aesthetic, De La Soul aren’t serving lyrical lessons from the high life. Opting instead for piercing hot air hype balloons via casual conversations at the corner laundromat or public high school playground.
The title track alone, produced by the legendary J Dilla, crystalizes the core themes of the entire album: The price of living isn’t going down, don’t buy into hype, change needs to come, but we can only do what we can.
De La Soul don’t sidestep what was going on in rap culture at the time, but rather comment on it from their corner of the world. They’re not faking the funk, just being funky in their own way and on their own terms. Even going as far as to call out The Notorious BIG on “Long Island Degrees,” “Check the level stakes is higher than the sky, I got questions about your life if you so Ready to Die.” Drilling home their frank confusion about why other rappers feel the need to go that hard and how did we get to this point?
The production throughout the entirety of ‘Stakes Is High’ is consistently cohesive, thematically, and full of subtle flourishes that demand repeat listens. Sonically, the entire album gives off the vibe that everything is just below the water. Not drowning. But just treading along & being able to keep your head above the fray. Perfectly complimenting the idea that we’re no longer in ‘3 Feet High & Rising’ territory anymore.
Despite the urgent tone that some of the album’s messages give off, the entire thing is delivered by the Plugs in an almost lackadaisical style, at times. These are young men whom, even around age 25, had already seen so much. To wit, there’s moments of reminiscing for the older days of rap. Imagine being 25 and you’ve already lived through the birth and complete stylistic evolution of an art form.
Even with the homages to Hip-Hop’s past, the album itself feels as current today as it did back in ‘96. While rap largely is probably never going to fully shake some of the maximalist habits lamented on ‘Stakes Is High’, there’s always going to be a Joey Bada$$ or Denzel Curry looking to pick up in 2023 right where an album like ‘Stakes Is High’ left off in 1996.
De La Soul crafted an album here that wasn’t for everybody at the time. This isn’t one for the clubs and it isn’t one to explicitly show how hard you are. This is an album giving it to you straight from Plugs 1, 2, & 3 as they saw it on the ground at the time.
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