Happy 20th Anniversary to De La Soul’s sixth studio album AOI: Bionix, originally released December 4, 2001.
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In 2001, hip-hop was pretty thoroughly segregated in terms of “mainstream” and “underground” subgenres. De La Soul, one of the most accomplished groups in hip-hop history, found themselves caught in the middle.
The group had defined its career by carrying the banner for artists that dared to be different, so putting out easily digestible and ultimately disposable material seemed far-fetched. However, they also seemed uncomfortable with the idea of creating music just for the “heads,” wishing to appeal to a maturing hip-hop audience.
Bear in mind, if someone was in their early twenties when they purchased 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), they were well into their thirties by the early ’00s. So, when De La released AOI: Bionix 20 years ago, they probably figured at least some of their target audience was now married, possibly with a kid or two, and was coping with being an “adult.” The group crafts AOI: Bionix, their sixth album, to appeal to those fans. Even though AOI: Bionix ranks in the bottom half of De La’s discography, it’s subtly groundbreaking in its own way.
AOI: Bionix was the second installment in their planned Art Official Intelligence (AOI) trilogy. Made up of Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer, Dave “Dove” Jolicoeur, and Vincent “Maseo” Mason, the group reportedly conceived the three-part album series as a means to end their relationship with Tommy Boy Records as expeditiously as possible. They had hoped to fulfill their contractual obligations with the label by releasing three projects in relatively rapid succession. They put out Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump in late summer 2000, and it was met with reasonable critical and commercial success. A little over a year later, they recalibrated their approach, releasing AOI: Bionix.
AOI: Bionix is a solid album, but its quality fluctuates as it progresses. It’s top heavy, peaking about midway through its runtime, then getting scattershot during its back half. De La still remain ahead of the curve in some areas, such as providing its aging audience with respectable “Grown Man Rap.” However, not all of these exercises work as designed. There are also bizarre inclusions of juvenile humor, which don’t fit the vibe of AOI: Bionix at all.
The album’s production is a little more uniform than the first AOI installment. Though they employ a whole range of beatmakers, Supa Dave West is the primary architects of the album’s sound. Supa Dave did some of his earliest work as a producer on De La’s Mosaic Thump, helming two tracks. On AOI: Bionix he produces six, about half of the album’s full-length songs. His production stylings lend themselves well to the “mature” backdrop that the group looks to achieve.
AOI: Bionix’s title track sets the tone for the album, as De La explain their mindsets while recording this project over a methodical piano groove. Dove describes how the album is geared towards earning them commercial success, rapping, “I’m on some new me, focused on the new tree / Trying to shake the money off the limbs so I can do me.” Meanwhile, Pos clarifies how the group functions outside of the known sub-genres of hip-hop at the time. “No need to spit in the cypher to show you I'm a lifer for rap,” he states. “I cultivate moves larger than that.”
AOI: Bionix’s first single, “Baby Phat” is De La’s version of “Baby Got Back” for thirtysomethings. Joined by Yummy Bingham and Devin the Dude on the hook, they detail their love for women that carry some extra pounds on the frame. The pair infuse the track with warm humor and heartfelt sentiment, as Dove encourages the object of his affection to “eat the whole box of chocolates that I send you.” Supa Dave’s synthesizer groove completes the funky listening experience.
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The two-part suite of “Simply” and “Simply Havin’” begin AOI: Bionix’s strongest run. The first half, “Simply” is an upbeat party track that features Posdnuos and Dove rhyming over a sample of Wings’ “Wonderful Christmas Time.” Pos is appropriately hyped throughout the song, but the track is worth the price of admission for Dove’s immaculate Nice & Smooth impression. On his two verses, he channels first Greg Nice then Smooth B, perfectly emulating their voices, styles, cadence, and subject matter.
The song segues into “Simply Havin’,” which is their ode to A Tribe Called Quest’s “Footprints.” The group recreate the track, right down to the samples of Donald Byrd’s “Think Twice” and Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke,” and deliver the first half of the first verse. I have no idea what inspired them to include this coda, but I’m glad it’s there.
“Held Down” is another highlight. The gospel-inspired Pos solo cut was originally intended for Mosaic Thump, where it was apparently going to feature the singing talents of Al Green. Instead, the hook is sung by Cee-Lo, then of Goodie Mob, who was a perfectly acceptable replacement for the Rev. Green at the time. Pos preaches on the importance of taking responsibility for your life’s decisions, reflecting that he’s “blessed to reign supreme over nearly every dream I had.”
Pos and Dove deliver some sharp braggadocio on “Watch Out,” a Latin-jazz infused entry, where the two bounce back and forth over vibraphone samples from a pair of Cal Tjader songs. Their verses are exercises in breath control, as they both execute complicated, winding rhyme schemes throughout their verses. Dove delivers wild and abstract imagery, rapping, “Bill Bixby green, ATM money / Got my pockets lookin' like I’m rocking Popeye jeans!” Pos opts to keep things more straightforward, as he raps, “Plain to see that a song like this been what you all missed / Come on, genuine adrenaline from off the wrists.”
After “Watch Out, ”AOI: Bionix is decidedly hit or miss. There are good ideas here, but they occasionally get marred by poor execution. The brief and funky “The Sauce” mostly works, as Pos and Dove trade short verses with newcomer Philly Back. Dave West hooks up a plucky guitar riff, which sometimes gets overpowered by unnecessary keyboard runs.
Both “Special” and “Am I Worth You?” are two of De La’s strongest lyrical exhibitions on AOI: Bionix. On the Kev Brown-produced former, Pos and Dove explore “grown man” relationship dynamics. With “Am I Worth You?” they describe their efforts to “keeping them bills paid with meals in the mouths of many” and “have fun amongst responsibility” while not compromising their music. Unfortunately, on both songs De La makes the mistake of thinking that “mature” subject matter requires softer musical edges. Hence, we get treacly R&B hooks and bland “adult contemporary music” inspired tracks.
De La’s “adult”-themed songs are also shaky. “When Nature Calls,” their Megahertz produced team-up with Slick Rick is decent but overlong, as Pos, Dove, and Rick describe their various sexual escapades. Much, much worse is “Pawn Star,” which aside from a decent beat, is an absolute embarrassment. Look, I’m not someone who believes that “conscious” rappers need to be sexless monks, but if you’re going to have to do something, at least do it well. The song itself mostly features the rapper Shell Council, who I’d never heard of before or since. I suspect the song was originally intended to be featured on a Shell Council project, but it ended up getting sandwiched in on AOI: Bionix.
I’m conflicted on “Peer Pressure,” produced by the legendary Jay Dee. De La collaborates with Cypress Hill’s B-Real, as he and Maseo play the role of teenagers trying to convince their hesitant friend, played by Pos, to smoke weed for the first time. On one hand, a track about how puffing herb isn’t as bad as anti-drug ads would have you believe is very early 1990s. On the other hand, the song features one of the illest beats that J Dilla ever created, studded with stuttering synths and slapping drums. Regardless, the entire endeavor ends up being a five-minute set-up to a joke from/call-back to Mosaic Thump.
AOI: Bionix ends with “Trying People,” a track that saves the project’s second half and succeeds in every area where “Am I Worth You?” fell short. Produced by Def 2 U Inc., the track is composed of vocals from The Fifth Dimension’s “Black Path,” a solid drum track, and the subtlest of horn stabs. Lyrically, De La puts together pensive meditation on dealing with change as they enter middle age, explaining how they’re still learning how to make the right decisions in life, and coping with the reality that they may be on different pages with those who were once close to them. Pos ponders his increasing role as an elder statesman in hip-hop, as he raps, “They tell me how they gonna shake up the game / But came to me to see if I could give ’em guidance for change / Shit y’all, I need guidance myself / And I chisel right words to make gems.”
The third AOI installment, which Maseo described as “some DJ shit” on AOI: Bionix’s title track, has never been released. Months after AOI: Bionix was released, Warner Bros. and Tommy Boy ended their business relationship. I’ve found it a little ironic that after De La’s long-standing contentious relationship with Tommy Boy, the label essentially ceased operations just before the group fulfilled its contractual obligations to the imprint.
Many of Tommy Boy’s acts were shopped to other labels within the Warner Bros. family, but De La ultimately left the fold altogether, heading to Sanctuary Records. The group recorded two of its best albums after leaving Tommy Boy: The Grind Date (2004) and …and the Anonymous Nobody (2016). They’ve also continued to work extensively with Supa Dave; he’s helped produce a decent share of their post Tommy Boy material, including the entirety of Anonymous Nobody.
As the third decade of the 21st century begins, those who “grew up” on De La’s early material are well into their forties, some edging into their fifties. Now many of these fans have kids of their own, and have been introducing them to De La’s music, of which AOI: Bionix might be a more difficult sell. In the past 20 years, the version of a “mature” hip-hop album has even further progressed. AOI: Bionix might not have been a slam dunk, but its heart was mostly in the right place, and resulted in some memorable music.
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