Cabin in the Sky<\/em>, where surviving members Kelvin \u201cPosdnous\u201d Mercier and Vincent \u201cDJ Maseo\u201d Mason honor the late Dave \u201cTrugoy the Dove\u201d Jolicoeur, is a bit like that. Numerous cuts unfold, only for Pos to abruptly begin reminiscing about his late friend or, on \u201cA Quick 16 for Mama\u201d with Killer Mike, honoring his late mother. He and hype man Maseo sound as if they\u2019re dancing through tears, both exultant and traumatized from weathering tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\tDe La Soul has always packaged its albums in conceptual frameworks. \u201cSeason nine,\u201d as Posdnous calls Cabin in the Sky<\/em>, is no different. It opens with a classroom roll call led by Giancarlo Esposito. Younger listeners will recognize the name from Breaking Bad <\/em>and Better Call Saul<\/em>, while old folks will note the allusion to the actor\u2019s breakout performance in Spike Lee\u2019s 1988 HBCU homage School Daze<\/em>. Esposito takes attendance as he recites a lengthy list of contributors such as Nas, Common, Q-Tip, and Slick Rick, before finally stopping at Trugoy\u2019s name. His voice trails off as he asks, \u201cDave? Dave\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tCabin in the Sky <\/em>is De La\u2019s first album since 2016\u2019s And the Anonymous Nobody<\/em> and, at an hour and 10 minutes, it sounds like something that was tinkered on for nearly a decade, well before Trugoy\u2019s death in 2023. Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon reprises Bananarama\u2019s \u201cCruel Summer\u201d on \u201cCruel Summers Bring FIRE LIFE!!,\u201d only for the track to shift after a minute or so into Trugoy the Dove harmonizing over a loop of Roy Ayers Ubiquity\u2019s \u201cEverybody Loves the Sunshine\u201d and claiming, \u201cShit\u2019s wired like Baltimore.\u201d Then it abruptly cuts to \u201cDay in the Sun (Gettin\u2019 Wit U),\u201d with Yummy Bingham singing the chorus in the mode of Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway\u2019s \u201cBack Together Again.\u201d Throughout, there\u2019s Pos\u2019s idiosyncratically awkward syntax: \u201cThrough the pastures of the blue, of clouds meanderin\u2019\/The sun got a front-seat view to the panderin\u2019.\u201d It\u2019s joyously twee and, yes, a little goofy and corny. Still, its depiction of grown folks happily and haplessly partying to oldies feels more honest and engaging than Ghostface Killah cosplaying his hardbody youth on Supreme Clientele 2<\/em>. \u201cMayday! Mayday!\/We got these rappers out here living good like it\u2019s still their heyday,\u201d raps Posdnous on \u201cPalm of His Hands.\u201d Then, his voice turning serious, he adds, \u201cHow we still here? Only God knows why.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tLongtime fans will note how Cabin in the Sky<\/em>\u2019s volley of chirpy melodies, callbacks to old-school roller-skating and quirky skits featuring Saturday Night Live\u2019s <\/em>Jay Pharaoh evokes past De La fare like De La Soul Is Dead<\/em>. Unlike that 1991 gem, Cabin in the Sky <\/em>doesn\u2019t bristle with satirical edge, preferring instead the gospel fervor of \u201cBelieve (In Him),\u201d a gospel number highlighted by Lady Stout and K. Butler & The Collective. As he\u2019s done throughout his career, Pos spends a few verses chastising wayward souls in the Black community. \u201cSo many mesmerized by the mess\/They hear the ringin\u2019 in their ears\/That\u2019s the gods trying to align \u2018em\/But unlike pianos, they choose to be out of tune, so that\u2019s where you find \u2018em,\u201d he raps on \u201cEN EFF,\u201d a collaboration with Black Thought and DJ Premier and an album highlight. In the past, he would\u2019ve delivered those lines with withering sarcasm or barely concealed anger. Heads still argue over whether De La\u2019s 1996 hallmark \u201cStakes Is High\u201d is a vibrant call-to-action against rap\u2019s aesthetic decline into street-rap clich\u00e9s or a hectoring and classist attack. Here, he simply sounds resigned to fate. \u201cLive and let give life and when death is within sight\/I hope to be surrounded by my seeds\/Tell \u2019em to love one another\/Tell my son to treat a woman better than I treated his mother,\u201d he raps on the title track.<\/p>\n\n\n
\t\tRelated Content<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n
\n\tNearly four decades after banding together as Long Island teenagers, De La Soul still knows how to create event albums that command our attention. It\u2019s one of their less acknowledged gifts \u2013 there\u2019s only a handful of rap acts who warrant critical fervor with every release \u2013 and a primary reason why Cabin in the Sky<\/em>\u2019s feels riveting despite a surplus of sentimental pop tones. The trio, now reduced to a duo, excel at sequencing tracks and stacking ideas so their thoughts on overcoming grief and embracing the possibilities of growing older feel more life-affirming than cloying. Pos\u2019s songwriting may not be as sharply engaging as in the past, but he effectively portrays himself as a Black musician wary of how \u201cWe worth millions but not millionaires\/\u2019Cause music industry rules are in disrepair,\u201d as he puts it on \u201cEN EFF,\u201d yet still optimistic about what\u2019s to come. In the burgeoning subgenre of old-man rap, there\u2019s not much more you can ask for.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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