AOI: Bionix
AMG AllMusic Guide: Pop Albums:
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AOI: Bionix
- Artist: De La Soul
- Rating:
- Release Date: December 04, 2001
- Type: Contains explicit content
- Genre: Rap
Review
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, Rovi| AO1 EP (Album by LaToria) | |
| AOI: Bionix [Japan] (2001 Album by De La Soul) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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AOI: Bionix
| AOI: Bionix | ||||
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| Studio album by De La Soul | ||||
| Released | December 4, 2001 | |||
| Recorded | 2000-2001 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 55:15 | |||
| Label | Tommy Boy | |||
| Producer | De La Soul, Supa Dave West, Kev Brown, Megahertz, Jay Dee, Deaf 2 U Inc., | |||
| De La Soul chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| About.com |   [1] |
| Allmusic | [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+ [3] |
| HipHopDX.com | [4] |
| Robert Christgau | A [5] |
| Rolling Stone |  [6] |
| USA Today | [7] |
| Vibe | [8] |
AOI: Bionix is De La Soul's sixth full-length album, released in 2001. The album was the second in a planned three-disc installment, which was originally intended to be a three-disc album.
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Contents
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Overview
The first single, "Baby Phat" featuring Yummy Bingham and Devin the Dude, was an ode to larger sized women. Elsewhere, "Held Down", featuring Cee-Lo, found Posdnuos in an introspective mood as he mused on fatherhood, religion, and fame. Slick Rick also made an appearance on "Things We Do (For Love)"; a humorous song about puberty and sexual discovery. Plans were made to release the Kev Brown-produced "Special" (featuring Yummy Bingham) as the second single, however Tommy Boy soon folded as a label, cutting short any further promotion of Bionix. Like many Hip-Hop albums, there is an official instrumental version of the album available on vinyl, with artwork.
Interludes
The album featured skits with a character by the name of "Reverend Do Good". The skits worked as social commentary as well as the intros and outros to the songs. The final Reverend Do Good skit acts as one final advertisement for "Ghost Weed" as heard on De La Soul's previous LP, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. A mischievous teenager takes a hit of the substance, then morphs into Slum Village frontman J Dilla, who provides the intro and outro to the marijuana-themed song "Peer Pressure" (which he also produces).
Track listing
- "Intro" – 0:29
- Produced by Def 2 U
- Contains sample of "Black Patch" performed by The 5th Dimension
- "Bionix" – 2:43
- Produced by Supa Dave West
- Contains sample of "Guiding Star" performed by Tavares
- "Baby Phat" – 3:50
- Featuring Devin the Dude and Yummy Bingham
- Produced by Supa Dave West
- "Simply" – 4:05
- Produced by Supa Dave West
- Contains sample of "Wonderful Christmastime" performed by Paul McCartney
- "Simply Havin'" – 0:48
- Contains a sample of "Footprints" by A Tribe Called Quest which itself contains a sample of "Think Twice" performed by Donald Byrd.
- "Held Down" – 4:54
- Featuring Cee-Lo Green
- Produced by Posdnous
- Contains bass line and riffs from the song "Ah ! Melody", from Histoire de Melody Nelson by Serge Gainsbourg and Jean-Claude Vannier
- "Reverend Do Good #1" – 1:05
- "Watch Out" – 3:37
- Produced by Supa Dave West
- Contains sample of "Mood for Milt" performed by Cal Tjader
- Contains sample of "Cubano Chant" performed by Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery
- "Special" – 3:36
- Featuring Yummy Bingham
- Produced by Kev Brown
- "Reverend Do Good #2" – 1:14
- "The Sauce" – 2:25
- Featuring Philly Black
- Produced by Supa Dave West
- "Am I Worth You?" – 4:01
- Featuring Glenn Lewis
- Produced by Supa Dave West
- Contains sample of "Sun Shower" performed by Jimmy Smith and Wes Montgomery
- "Pawn Star" – 4:06
- Featuring Shell Council
- Produced by De La Soul
- "What We Do (For Love)" – 5:04
- Featuring Slick Rick
- Produced by Megahertz
- "Reverend Do Good #3" – 2:20
- "Peer Pressure" – 5:09
- "It's American" – 1:09
- "Trying People" – 4:31
- Produced by Def 2 U
- Contains sample of "Black Patch" performed by 5th Dimension
Album singles
| Single information |
|---|
"Baby Phat"
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References
- ^ Oshun, Ifè. "AOI: Bionix". About.com. Archived from the original on 16 April 2003. http://web.archive.org/web/20030416023502/http://rap.about.com/library/weekly/aapr_bionix.htm.
- ^ Bush, John. De La Soul: AOI: Bionix > Review at Allmusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ^ Serpick, Evan (7 December 2001). "AOI: Bionix (2001)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 21 April 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20090421134539/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,253064,00.html.
- ^ "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". hiphopdx.com. 7 December 2001. http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.123/title.de-la-soul-aoi-bionix.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=11010. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ^ Ex, Kris (17 January 2002). "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". RS 887. Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071117092111/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/delasoul/albums/album/138744/review/5942986/aoi_bionix.
- ^ Jones, Steve (4 December 2001). "Rap:". 'Ali' soundtrack joins other album champs. USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2001-12-04-listen.htm.
- ^ Chang, Jeff (January 2002). De La Soul, AOI: Bionix. Vibe. http://books.google.com/books?id=xiUEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA122&dq=revolutions&lr=&as_pt=MAGAZINES&hl=fr&rview=1&cd=91#v=onepage&q=revolutions&f=false.
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