Stakes Is High is De La Soul's fourth full-length album, released on July 2, 1996. The album marked a change in the group's sound and direction as it was their first release not to be produced in collaboration with Prince Paul. Stakes Is High was mainly produced by the group themselves with additional tracks provided by Jay Dee, DJ Ogee, Spearhead X and Skeff Anslem. It received mostly strong reviews but little commercial success.
History
Stakes Is High marked the first time the group did not collaborate with long-time producer Prince Paul on an album. After the album's release, the group toured extensively and remained rather quiet before returning in 2000 with the first installment in their "Art Official Intelligence" series, '. Stakes Is High dealt with many topics, including the state of hiphop, the commercialization of the hip-hop culture and criticism towards gangsta rap. This would cause great contempt with the late gangsta rapper2Pac who would later retaliate on the song "Against All Odds" from his posthumous 1996 album '. Naughty By Nature also took serious offense to the record, creating a feud that has only recently died down. Stakes Is High helped introduce rapperMos Def to a wider audience, on the cut "Big Brother Beat". Common also makes an appearance on "The Bizness".
Interludes
Like other De La Soul albums, Stakes Is High has a running theme, which in this case is the group's concern for the state of rap, as well as the current state of hip hop culture and how it is regarded in general. The following sound clips are featured:
The introduction track begins with various clips of interviews, the interviewees describing where they were when they first heard the influential rap album Criminal Minded.
At the end of track 9, "Long Island Degrees", a 'redneck' describes why he hates rap music
At the end of track 10, "Betta Listen", there is a clip of Posdnuos and Maseo discussing an error in communication about a club.
At the end of track 15, "Pony Ride" — an excerpt from the documentary Crumb, in which Maxon Crumb discusses his struggle living on the streets, describing his periods of optimism and depression. While describing this situation, he remarks,"Stakes is high".
The beginning and end of track 16, "Stakes is High" feature sound clips of people playing dice. The O.J. Simpson trials are discussed by a man nearby.
The clip at the end of the final track, "Sunshine", closes the album with a young man saying "Yo, when I first heard 3 Feet High and Rising, I was" and then the clip is cut out in similar fashion to "Fight the Power" in Public Enemy's legendary album, Fear of a Black Planet. 3 Feet High and Rising being De La Soul's first release and a very influential hip-hop album, held in a similarly high regard as Criminal Minded, which is discussed at the beginning of the album.
