AOI: Bionix

by De La Soul

Overview

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. ~ John Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2023
Label:	Chrysalis Music / Chrysalis Records
UPC:	0810098505130

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Intro
2. Bionix
3. Baby Phat
4. Simply
5. Simply Havin
6. Held Down
7. Reverend Do Good #1
8. Watch Out
9. Special

Disc 2

10. Reverend Do Good #2
11. The Sauce
12. Am I Worth You?
13. Pawn Star
14. What We Do (For Love)
15. Reverend Do Good #3
16. Peer Pressure
17. It's American
18. Trying People

Album Credits

Performance Credits

De La Soul   Primary Artist
B-Real   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Smiles Patron   Primary Artist,Voices
Elizabeth "Yummy" Bingham   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Jason Spears   Primary Artist,Voices
Jose "Perico" Hernandez   Primary Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
CeeLo Green   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Yummy Bingham   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Slick Rick   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Devin the Dude   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Soulstice   Primary Artist,Voices,Vocals
Shell Council   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Philly Black   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Glenn Lewis   Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Devin   Featured Artist
Al Carty   Bass
Troy Hightower   Vocals,Voices
Larry Goldings   Organ
Hop Wilson   Voices
Mike Lewis   French Horn,French Horn
Glen Mosley   Organ,Keyboards
Melanie Davies   Choir/Chorus
Claudia   Vocals,Voices
Mansa   Voices
Darius Booker   Choir/Chorus
Kyle Williams   Guitar
Hope Wilson   Vocals,Voices
Glen Mosely   Organ,Keyboards
Taketha Johnson   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Laura Nyro   Composer
Ricky Walters   Composer
Serge Gainsbourg   Composer
Kevin Lewis   Mixing,Producer,Digital Editing,Assistant Engineer
Vincent Mason   Composer
Ian Steaman   A&R
Kevin Wolahan   Design,Art Direction
Patrick Patterson   Composer
Troy Hightower   Mixing,Composer,Producer,Digital Editing
Paul McCartney   Composer
Supa Dave West   Composer,Producer
Steve Scipio   Composer
Bob Power   Mixing
Kurtis Blow   Composer
Larry Mizell   Composer
John Davis   Composer
Jaydee   Producer
Louis Freese   Composer
De La Soul   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Mark Morales   Composer
Jean-Claude Vannier   Composer
Lucky   Producer
Stony Browder Jr.   Composer
Dave West   Composer,Producer
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Cal Tjader   Composer
Megahertz   Producer
Brian Robinson   Business Consultant
Glenn Lewis   Composer
Ali Muhammad   Composer
August Darnell   Composer
Kev Brown   Composer,Producer
Kevin Brown   Composer
Kelvin Mercer   Composer
Jay Dee   Producer,Monologue
Posdnuos   Producer
Jason Spears   Announcer,Assistant Engineer
Tom Coyne   Mastering
Dave Jolicoeur   Composer
Michelle Bayer   Business Consultant
Paul Huston   Composer
Sigidi Abdullah   Composer
Artese Williams   Assistant Engineer
Lawrence Dickens   Composer
Larry Farrow   Composer
William Waring   Composer
Kochi Sato   Stage Crew
April Roomet   Stylist
Pos Plug Won   Producer
David West   Composer
Damon Wimbley   Composer
Bradley Ridgell   Composer
James Yancey   Composer
Ronald Miller   Composer
Dorsey Wesley   Composer,Producer
Lucious Mercer   Composer
Neal Forrester   Composer
Deaf 2 U   Producer
Sigidi Adbullah   Composer
Salvander Parker   Composer