Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump

Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
Studio album by De La Soul
Released August 8, 2000
Recorded 1998-2000
Genre Hip hop
Length 66:46
Label Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records
01361
Producer De La Soul, Supa Dave West, Rockwilder, Jay Dee, Mr. Khaliyl, and Deaf 2 U Inc.
De La Soul chronology

Stakes Is High
(1996)		 Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
(2000)		 AOI: Bionix
(2001)
Singles from Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
  1. "Oooh."
    Released: 2000
  2. "Thru Ya City"
    Released: 2001
  3. "All Good?"
    Released: 2000
Alternative covers
Japanese cover

Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump is De La Soul's fifth full-length studio album, released on August 8, 2000.

Overview

The album was the first in a planned three-disc installment, which was originally intended to be a three-disc album. Among the guests on the album are, Redman, Tash and J-Ro of Tha Liks, Xzibit, Busta Rhymes, Mike D and Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys, Busy Bee, Freddie Foxxx and soul diva Chaka Khan.

Unlike their previous album, Stakes Is High, Mosaic Thump returned De La Soul to chart territory again thanks to the hit singles "Oooh.", and "All Good?". The album was also nominated for a Grammy.

The Japanese version of the album featured album art by celebrity hip hop-inspired manga artist Santa Inoue, owner of Santastic! Entertainment clothing line.[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic (75/100)[2]
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [3]
Entertainment Weekly B+[4]
Los Angeles Times [5]
Neumu [6]
Robert Christgau A−[7]
Rolling Stone [8]
The Village Voice A−[9]
USA Today [10]
Yahoo! Music [11]

Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump generally received overall positive reviews from critics. James Poletti of Yahoo! Music gave the album an eight out of ten star review. "In keeping with the current vogue for hip hop albums with more guests than Letterman, over 50 per cent of this album features appearances from everyone from Redman to Chaka Khan", which he said may or may not have something to do with finding a unique voice in hip hop. "The really refreshing change with De La Soul is not simply their lack of bullshit but their proud rejection of hip-hop's nihilism."[11] Michael Goldberg of Neumu gave the album the same eight out of ten star review and simply said with the amount of guest stars in the album, "keeps things lively". "The grooves are righteous and the vibe is right" Goldberg stated.[6]

Track listing

No. TitleProduced Length
1. "Spitkicker.com/Say R." (Intro)De La Soul 1:19
2. "U Can Do (Life)"  Supa Dave West 4:23
3. "My Writes" (feat. Tash and J-Ro of Tha Alkaholiks and Xzibit)Adlib, De La Soul 5:29
4. "Oooh." (feat. Redman & Pharoahe Monch)De La Soul, Prince Paul 5:24
5. "Thru Ya City" (feat. D.V. Alias Khrist)Jay Dee 3:29
6. "I.C. Y'All" (feat. Busta Rhymes)Rockwilder 3:21
7. "View"  De La Soul 4:18
8. "Set The Mood" (feat. Indeed)Mr. Khaliyl 4:23
9. "All Good?" (feat. Chaka Khan)De La Soul 4:59
10. "Declaration"  De La Soul 2:56
11. "Squat!" (feat. Mike D and Ad Rock of the Beastie Boys)De La Soul 4:14
12. "Words From The Chief Rocker" (feat. Busy Bee Starski)De La Soul 1:01
13. "With Me"  De La Soul 4:50
14. "Copa (Cabanga)"  Supa Dave West 4:06
15. "Foolin'"  De La Soul & Deaf 2 U Inc. 4:22
16. "The Art of Getting Jumped"  De La Soul 3:48
17. "U Don't Wanna B.D.S." (feat. Freddie Foxxx)De La Soul 4:13

Samples

The following is a list of songs and sound footage sampled in the songs on Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump.

Track Samples
"U Can Do (Life)"
"Oooh."
  • Theme from "Enter the Dragon" by Lalo Schifrin
  • "The Greatest Love" by Lee Dorsey
  • "Damn Right, I Am Somebody" by The J.B.'s
"Thru Ya City"
"I.C. Y'All"
  • "Galaxy" written by T. Allen, H. Brown, M. Dickerson, G. Goldstein, L. Jordan, Lee levitin, C. Miller and H. Scott
  • "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life" by Indeep
"View"
"Declaration"
"Words from the Chief Rocker"
  • "Down By Law" written by Brathewaite
  • lyrics from the song "Battle at the Dixie"
"With Me"
"Foolin"
"The Art of Getting Jumped"
  • "Jump to It" written by Luther Vandross
  • "I Got to Have It" by Ed Og & the Bulldog
  • "A Dor E Curata E O Nome Comprido" by Odair Cabeca de Poeta e Grupo Capote
  • "Go Stetsa 1" by Stetsasonic

Album singles

A "—" represents singles not in the given charts.

Year Single Peak positions
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Hot R&B Singles UK Singles Chart Hot Dance Club Play
2000 "Oooh." 25 44 29 —
"All Good?" — 41 33 17
2001 "Thru Ya City" — — 90 —

References

  1. ↑ Inoue, Santa (2006). "De La Soul / Art Official Intelligence" (in Japanese). Tōkyō-to Shibuyaku Shibuya 1 Chōme 22 − 5: Santastic! Entertainment. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Art Official Intelligence (Mosaic Thump) Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  3. ↑ Bush, John. "De La Soul: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump" at AllMusic. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ Weingarten, Marc (August 18, 2000). "Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump: De La Soul". Entertainment Weekly (#555-556).
  5. ↑ Baker, Soren (August 4, 2000). "In a Surprise, De La Soul Plays Things Straight Up". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Goldberg, Michael. "De La Soul: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump". Neumu. Retrieved April 21, 2009.
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "De La Soul". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  8. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (August 17, 2000). "De La Soul: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump". Rolling Stone (847). Archived from the original on November 17, 2007.
  9. ↑ Christgau, Robert (August 2000). "Getting Them Straight". The Village Voice. p. 1.
  10. ↑ Jones, Steve (August 8, 2000). "Rap: De La Soul, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump". USA Today.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Poletti, James (August 11, 2000). "De La Soul – 'Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump'". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on May 17, 2004.

External links