AOI: Bionix

在充斥一片情色、暴力、街头黑暗面、逞兇斗狠的Hip-Hop/Rap界，於80年末出现一组相当欢娱趣緻的三人团体－De La Soul，替黑压压的一片饶舌圈中涂上繽纷鲜活的色彩！ 相遇於高中时期的Posdnuos、Trugoy The Dove及Pasemaster Mase，被身兼DJ、製作人、饶舌歌手等多重身份的Prince Paul发堀，将其录製的Demo带推荐给圈内好友，於大小型Party上强力播放他们的创作曲，并穿针引线让De La Soul成功入主Tommy Boy旗下！曲风巧妙的融合出流行、放客、灵魂、雷鬼、爵士及迷幻等音韵，虽然他们的风格获得艺术界一致的肯定，在商业方面也同获极佳的销售成绩，但身处独立厂牌Tommy Boy旗下的De La Soul，却不汲汲向商业市场靠拢，仍秉持他们一贯作风，在艺术及商业界取得一个平衡点，发挥他们对音乐独到的眼光与深具巧思、机智风趣、异想天开、毫无约束的Tone调！ by John Bush Ever since their 1989 debut with 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul have puzzled fans by continually resisting the laid-back grooves and intelligent message tracks of hip-hop's best first album ever. From their sophomore rebuke, De La Soul Is Dead, to the harder-than-thou Mosaic Thump, the trio has often sacrificed happiness for hardcore, even when it's clear they do positivity better than any other rap group. Bionix, the second volume in De La Soul's comeback trilogy, Art Official Intelligence, presents the trio in astronaut gear on the cover, while inside a female-vocal intro proclaims the new De La Soul: "Better, stronger, faster." Listeners a bit doubtful after the rapid disappearance of first installment Mosaic Thump can rest easy; the trio sounds positively refreshed here, finally content to concentrate on its specialties: wrapping groovy, sparkling productions around smart, sympathetic themes with rapping that doesn't scrimp just because they're not gangsta. "Baby Phat" is first, a wickedly wonderful tribute to the beautiful black woman in all of her various shapes and figures. Producer Dave West spins a beautiful sample (from Wings' "Wonderful Christmas Time") for the highlight, a mid-tempo hand-waver named "Simply." Though this is by no means a hardcore album, the trio also spits a few bars, criticizing the easy answers of organized religion on "Held Down" (as well as on the three "Rev. Do Good" interludes scattered during the rest of the LP). De La Soul handed virtually all of the production duties over to the talented West, and it pays off doubly, not only giving Bionix a great sense of album flow, but freeing up the trio to concentrate on its excellent rapping (probably the best since their debut). It hardly seemed possible that De La Soul were capable of such incredible work after being lapped by most of the hip-hop world, but Bionix ranks right up there with 3 Feet High and Rising.