De La Soul - The Grind Date (October 5, 2004)

Thanks to my Reader Review program, I don’t have to write about De La Soul’s AOI: Bionix in order to proceed with the trio’s discography. So for today’s post, I get to jump straight to their seventh full-length album in fifteen years, 2004’s The Grind Date, which may be best known for being the exact opposite of what a De La Soul album typically consisted of: the skits and other general filler have been dropped in favor of a leaner, tighter product made up of just the music, for better or for worse.

The saga of The Grind Date is a tiny bit more interesting to me than the album itself. You see, De La Soul, made up of Posdnuos, Dave (or Trugoy the Dove, depending on when you jumped onto the bandwagon), and Maseo, had been signed to Tommy Boy Records for the entirety of their career. Their first six albums were all distributed by the label. Their seventh, the planned finale for their Art Official Intelligence trilogy of projects, was scheduled to receive the same treatment. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be, as our hosts found themselves stymied creatively by the restrictions of the trilogy, and they made the business decision to put the series on hold while recording an entirely separate album, which eventually became The Grind Date. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the joint deal Tommy Boy Records had with Warner Brothers came to an end, and De La’s contract was shopped to other labels, landing them at the now-defunct Sanctuary Records, where they briefly shared a parent company with the likes of Ministry, Tegan and Sara, Morrissey, and Guns ‘N Roses.

As I mentioned above, The Grind Date eschewed De La Soul’s penchant for skits and interludes that connected the thematic dots in favor of just presenting the music. Said music came from a handful of hip hop’s finest producers, including Madlib, 9th Wonder (ugh), Jake One, Supa Dave West, and the late J. Dilla, while cameos come from folks such as Ghostface Killah, Common, and filmmaker Spike Lee. The Grind Date comes across as less playful than the trio’s past work, both with and without Prince Paul: one has to wonder if that lack of whimsy was an intentional choice so that De La Soul could compete in the ever-evolving world of hip hop without solely relying on their historical significance in the genre.

The Grind Date was met with critical acclaim and poor commercial sales, and quickly disappeared from the radar. Although the trio kept themselves busy with guest appearances, mixtapes, and other creative outlets, there wouldn’t be a proper follow-up album released until 2016, and that was only after a successful Kickstarter campaign. I don’t mean that to be an indicator of this particular project’s quality: I just find it both fascinating and depressing how the veterans within our chosen genre are usually treated like shit, as the industry favors younger flash-in-the-pan artists who keep burning out faster and faster with each passing day. Just like every other musical genre, yes, but that doesn’t make it any less fucked.

(I also understand it that De La Soul is currently working on the final installment in the Art Official Intelligence series, so at least we'll hopefully have some closure soon.)

1. THE FUTURE

That intro is frustrating as fuck, with the phrase, “we are the past, we are the present, we are the future” chopped up and chanted repeatedly, alternating speakers to give the impression that this project Has Something To Say, even though it, by design, certainly does not. You may be tempted to turn The Grind Date off immediately, before Pos and Dave even arrive on their own project, but if you stick it out, the listener is rewarded with… a very cheesy chorus, followed by a verse apiece from the Plugs which bring back the familiarity and consistency one expects from a De La Soul album. The instrumental, provided by frequent collaborator Supa Dave West, is playful and entertaining, bringing the energy the Art Official Intelligence series trafficked in, and the verses are pleasant, with Dave shouting-out some of the other members of the Native Tongues collective, including the then-incarcerated Chi-Ali. Not a bad way to set things off.

2. VERBAL CLAP

I couldn’t bring myself to love this production from the late J. Dilla, but not because of the beat, which grows on you throughout and ultimately becomes one of the hardest instrumentals De La will ever spit over. (The decision to crib samples from Mountain’s “Long Red” also puts it in the same category as every other rap song that found inspiration in that source material.) No, “Verbal Clap” has some fine performances from Pos and Dave, but their failure to consistently remain on the beat throws the entirety of the track in jeopardy. Which is a shame, as “Verbal Clap” could have been pretty great: instead, I have to settle for merely good, and I hate settling for shit. And no, I’m not sure why Trugoy the Dave opted to spit the second verse the way he does. Sigh.

3. MUCH MORE (FEAT. YUMMY BINGHAM & DJ PREMIER)

The first single from The Grind Date (at least released in the United States, anyway) features a Dilla donut that resembles the structure of both Consequence’s “Grammy Family” and Jay-Z’s “All Around The World”, except neither of those tracks feature upset and foul-mouthed DJ Premier admonishing listeners for not supporting real hip hop (which is the man’s default setting these days, if you'll recall that cameo on Prince Paul's Politics of the Business). Guest vocalist Yummy Bingham’s chorus is high-pitched and ultimately doesn’t work with the comparatively calm nature of the instrumental, but Pos and Dave both deliver entertaining verses that help keep the momentum up. Can’t say I’ve ever cared for this one, though, and as per usual, I don’t understand why you would ask Preemo for a cameo without also snagging a fucking beat from the man, but oh well.

4. SHOPPING BAGS (SHE GOT FROM YOU)

Welp, that was fucking terrible.

5. THE GRIND DATE

The previous track, “Shopping Bags (She Got From You)”, was a horrific disappointment, a misogynistic song disguised as a “I can support her and buy her more things than you can”-type of deal which was inexplicably produced by Madlib alongside De La. So of course Sanctuary released it as a single. Not this Supa Dave West-produced title track, though: my assumption is that guest Bönz Malone’s monologues throughout “The Grind Date” were considered too difficult for the radio. And that’s a shame: this ode to achieving your dreams by any means necessary is the best track on The Grind Date thus far, as Pos and Dave both take to the instrumental like a fish to water. Well, I liked it, anyway.

6. CHURCH

An unnecessary introduction from filmmaker/habitual line-stepper Spile Lee, included seemingly just because De La had the power to make it happen, leads into the 9th Wonder-produced “Church”, which is very 9th Wonder-y in its execution, utilizing soul samples in order to recreate the exact same type of song he’s been crafting ever since Little Brother first broke onto the scene. Pos and Dave tackle “Church” in a very general sense, with the understanding that some people may require support on a spiritual level, albeit with a warning that not all church services are created equal. The track itself is fine, in that you wouldn’t skip past it if or when it pops up on your phone or Echo, but you won’t actively seek it out, either. It exists primarily as a song that is inoffensive in nearly every way. The track ends with a continuation of Bönz Malone’s monologue from the previous track, which leads into…

7. IT’S LIKE THAT (FEAT. CARL THOMAS)

A Supa Dave West-produced trifle in the same vein as “Stakes Is High” or “Itzsoweezee (Hot)” (both from 1996’s Stakes Is High), in that Pos and Dave criticize the current (as of 2004, keep in mind) state of the rap game and question the loyalty of the more popular artists involved (who aren’t named) with our chosen genre. By way of their respective ages and the fact that the first De La Soul album dropped fifteen years prior to The Grind Date, they can’t help but sound like they’re trying to shoo these kids off of their lawn, and the weak instrumental, combined with a Carl Thomas hook for some reason, won’t convince any listener that these guys are legitimately concerned with hip hop. This was boring as shit, folks. Sorry.

8. HE COMES (FEAT, GHOSTFACE KILLAH)

My biggest gripe with The Grind Date is the lack of engaging music: Pos and Dave both sound fine, but their instrumental backing fails them more often than not, and you won’t give much of a fuck about the messages they’re trying to convey. “He Comes” doesn’t have that problem: Supa Dave West’s beat is entertaining as hell, and even if the soul sample that gives the song its name seems to be a poor choice, the track as a whole clicks well enough. Plugs One and Two unleash inspired performances, while guest star Ghostface Killah (credited as simply Ghostface, as this was released back when Def Jam Records was trying to market him to elementary school-age children or something, I don’t know, and who was actually introduced at the tail end of the preceding track) winds things up, throwing listeners off the scent with two choruses that really weren’t necessary before spitting a verse, one in which he sounds excited by the fact that De La Soul are even aware of who he is.

9. DAYS OF OUR LIVES (FEAT. COMMON)
I liked Common’s guest appearance on De La’s “The Bizness” (even though, at the time, he thought it would be cool to throw in a downright mean attack on HIV-positive Olympic swimmer Greg Louganis), which seemed out-of-character for him even back then), but for whatever reason he doesn’t fit in on “Days Of Our Lives”. It isn’t for a lack of trying: he even joins Pos and Dave in passing the mic around during the hook. But this Jake One production never takes off, even though Posdnuos delivers a more boastful and aggressive verse toward the end. I can see some of you two enjoying this one, and it isn’t necessarily bad, but I thought it was kind of boring. Ah well.

10. COME ON DOWN (FEAT. FLAVOR FLAV)

Look, you bring in Flavor Flav for one reason and one reason only: to promote the many VH-1 reality programs he had running at the time. No wait, it’s to get you a great deal on a giant clock on a chain. Okay, maybe there are a multitude of reasons to ask Flavor Flav to guest on your song. (Has anybody ever been to his restaurant in Las Vegas? The last time I was there, it was too far away from where I was staying for me to get to without turning it into a whole thing, and I understand it may be closed now?) But one typically asks him to play hypeman, a role he has perfected over his many years as a part of Public Enemy, and he does a great fucking job for De La Soul on the Madlib-produced “Come On Down”. This song wasn’t very memorable otherwise, but Pos and Dave seem to be having some fun.

11. NO (FEAT. BUTTA VERSES)

After yet another unnecessary introduction, this one courtesy of Yummy Bingham, the Dave West beat for “No” kicks in, a round of boasts-n-bullshit punctuated by a highly-relatable guest cameo from Butta Verses, who should have contributed more throughout The Grind Date as a whole. It’s too bad the rest of “No” is largely forgettable, but it also wasn’t overly offensive to the ears, they’re not bleeding out profusely or anything. Should you sit and listen to “No”? Weirdly, my answer is still “no”. Not sure where I got that from.

12. ROCK CO. KANE FLOW (FEAT. MF DOOM)

The final track of the evening features an MF DOOM guest verse but not an MF DOOM instrumental, which, given our hosts, feels like a missed opportunity. Jake One does a pretty good job behind the boards, though, and “Rock Co. Kane Flow” is straight-up bars throughout, a nice change of pace that just so happens to occur at the very end of the project. Pos and Dave deliver some great performances, while DOOM reigns himself in for his cameo, opting to not spiral out of control with his wordplay while still bringing the weirdness his fans have come to expect. This… was pretty goddamn good. At least we’re ending on a high note.

The following bonus track only appears on international editions of The Grind Date.

13. SHOOMP (FEAT. SEAN PAUL)

I don’t believe “Shoomp” was ever released in the United States, but the Interweb doesn’t allow exclusives to remain that way for very long. Dilla’s interesting chop of the Tom Tom Club’s “Genius of Love” at least helps this not sound exactly like Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy”, although it would have been cool had De La Soul had snagged the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard to cameo on here as well. Instead, we’re treated to the stylings of Sean Paul, who sounds okay and doesn’t stick around long enough to dominate the track. Pos and Dave seem a bit uncomfortable at first, but quickly get acclimated to the surroundings, as the instrumental reminded me of the beat from De La’s “Squat!” (from Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump). Not the finest De La song ever recorded by any measure, but I want each and every one of you two to give this one a spin and report your thoughts in the comments below. DO you believe this could have improved the U.S. edition of The Grind Date? Let me know.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Ultimately, The Grind Date is a disappointing effort. All of the ingredients are there: Pos and Dave provide lyrics that are at times both playful and reflective, the beats are supplied by A-list names, and the guest spots are filled with ringers. But for whatever reason, none of this mixes together in a pleasing manner: I think it’s fair to say that The Grind Date tastes too bitter. Perhaps this was always going to happen: De La Soul’s label woes are what triggered their problems recording the album in the first place, and that frustration can be heard in the final product. For a project without any specific throughline, The Grind Date is more all over the place than it should be, which doesn’t translate to an entertaining listening experience. It’s hard for me to describe without using words such as “boring” and “hollow”, but that’s where I landed after listening to this album in its entirety for the first time in fourteen years: it plays as though Sanctuary forced De La Soul to release the project immediately as per the terms of their new contract. I can’t say that The Grind Date would have been better had De La spent a little more time tweaking it, as they had three years and even admitted that they were having trouble finishing the album, so I suppose I should have expected this outcome from the jump.

BUY OR BURN? I think a burn is more than sufficient here. Blasphemy? Not from where I’m sitting: even with a couple of pretty decent songs, The Grind Date just cannot compare to De La Soul’s best days.

BEST TRACKS: “Rock Co. Kane Flow”; “The Grind Date”; “He Comes” on a good day

-Max

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