De La Soul first made waves in the hip-hop community with their 1989 debut album, “3 Feet High and Rising.” Along with similar groups like A Tribe Called Quest and the Jungle Brothers, the trio helped break new ground in the genre, combining jazz, funk and afrocentric influences to create an energetic, lighthearted sound.
Last week, nearly 30 years after their initial success, De La Soul released their ninth studio album, “And the Anonymous Nobody.” Though each member of the group is now nearing 50, the new record retains the experimental, eclectic spirit of the group’s early work.
In fact, the album features such a broad variety of styles it becomes nearly incoherent.
“Snoopies,” featuring David Byrne of the Talking Heads, sounds more like Weezer-style alternative rock than hip-hop. The very next song on the album, “Greyhounds,” features Usher, leading the way on an unmistakably R&B track. “Nosed Up,” four minutes of pure 1990s sounds, would fit right in on an early A Tribe Called Quest album. And “Whoodeeni" is a crackling, angry gangsta rap song featuring current star 2 Chainz — and a 1970s funk chorus.
Like any album with such broad sonic variety, “And the Anonymous Nobody” has great moments and weak moments. “Property of Spitkicker.com” is mystifying and lifeless thanks to the heavy vocal editing. “You Go Dave” attempts to criticize current pop music but succeeds only in disrupting the album’s flow and making listeners cringe.
However, even though De La Soul is composed of experienced professionals, the album’s good moments ultimately outnumber the bad. “Pain” encompasses the best of the group’s jazz-funk style, featuring a lively beat and a cameo from fellow old guard hip-hop guru Snoop Dogg. “Greyhound” is catchy, gentle and intelligent. The album has plenty of excellent tracks.
“3 Feet High and Rising” was, at the time, unlike any other music available. It sampled obscure artists and sounds, and its lyrics were funny and smart. It helped spawn an entire genre of alternative hip-hop, since colonized, popularized and redefined by artists like OutKast and Kanye West.
West’s latest album, “The Life of Pablo,” a critical and financial smash hit, is a perfect example of De La Soul’s influence. Strange and inconsistent, the album samples gospel, rock, jazz and funk sounds. It flirts with narrative, and West raps about everything from sex to God to Taylor Swift. “The Life of Pablo” is a weird album.
But back in the 80s, De La Soul invented the weird album.
Though “And the Anonymous Nobody” matches the experimentation of “3 Feet High and Rising,” the new record is not nearly as striking as its 80s counterpart because the hip-hop landscape has changed in the intervening decades.
However, “And the Anonymous Nobody” fits comfortably in with other experimental, alternative hip-hop being produced today. Thanks to the widespread influence of De La Soul, being weird isn’t so weird anymore.
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