De La Soul

 

I walked into this show with open ears and an open mind. De La Soul is a twenty one year old hip hop group still rhyming their way around the world for a paycheck. At one time they were a ground-breaking group, combining elements of jazz and electronica into their brand of music. Some groups have managed to keep the 80's alive, but for this group, the 80's are definitely dead.

Although their show was somewhat fun to watch, because well, listening to 80's throwbacks can be fun, their music is truly dated. Their quirky lyrics of yesteryear just don't have the impact they once had. Their Grammy award winning days are definitely over. Like milk that has been kept past its expiry date, even in the best of conditions, I would have to say De La Soul has now turned De La Sour.

However that is not to say the concert-goers cared. Helped along with a little booze, those who were there clearly were not bothered by the past tense nature of the show they were watching. They were dancing like it was the 80's party of the century, completely shamelessly and entertaining to each other as well, I suppose.

This particular group of rappers have not released an album of new material since 2004, nor a truly successful album in over ten years. I would not be holding my breath for anything great in the future from this group. Many of their releases in the past 15 years have been either singles or remixes of older material. While once at the forefront of their game, now they really do have little more than late 80's - early 90's nostalgic value.

Article by: Mark Dobinson
posted:19 Dec 2008