De La Soul Stakes Is High 2LP

Stakes Is High is the fourth studio album by De La Soul, released on July 2, 1996. Stakes Is High was critically lauded for its music, lyricism, and its overall message concerning the artistic decline rap music began to face in the mid-'90s. The title track and first single was produced by J Dilla and the album's second single, "Itzsoweezee (HOT)," with only Dave on vocals, was accompanied by a creative music video. The album spawned a third single "4 More" featuring Zhane. The album did provide a launching pad for future star rappers and actors Mos Def, who appeared on the track "Big Brother Beat" and Common who is featured on "The Bizness."

...De La offered an album that was not only sonically excellent and creative and pure, but an album with the year's most relevant and prescient message....Stakes Is High is an important album of this era, an album of great production and the most skilled of MCs who diagnosed symptoms of what they believed were hip-hop health complications - but it offered the medicine.