Stakes Is High

Stakes Is High
Studio album by
De La Soul
ReleasedJuly 2, 1996
GenreEast Coast hip hop[1]
Length68:19
Label
Producer
De La Soul chronology
Clear Lake Audiotorium
(1994) 		Stakes Is High
(1996) 		Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
(2000)
Singles from Stakes Is High
  1. "Stakes Is High"
    Released: June 17, 1996
  2. "Itzsoweezee (Hot)"
    Released: 1996
  3. "4 More"
    Released: 1997
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB[3]
Muzik[4]
NME6/10[5]
RapReviews10/10[6]
Rolling Stone[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[8]
Spin6/10[9]
Tiny Mix Tapes[10]
The Village VoiceB+[11]

Stakes Is High is the fourth studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on July 2, 1996, through Tommy Boy Records. The album marked a change in the group's sound and direction, as it was their first release not produced in collaboration with Prince Paul. Stakes Is High was mainly produced by the group themselves, with additional tracks provided by Jay Dee, DJ Ogee, Spearhead X and Skeff Anslem. It is considered the group's darkest and most serious album. It received mostly strong reviews but little commercial success.

  1. ^ "50 Greatest East Coast Hip-Hop Albums of the 1990s". The Boombox. October 20, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  2. ^ Thomas, Vincent. "Stakes Is High – De La Soul". AllMusic. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  3. ^ Smith, Ethan (July 12, 1996). "Stakes Is High". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  4. ^ Ashon, Wil (July 1996). "De La Soul: Stakes Is high" (PDF). Muzik. No. 14. p. 122. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  5. ^ Cigarettes, Johnny (July 29, 1996). "De La Soul – Stakes Is High". NME. London. Archived from the original on October 10, 2000. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  6. ^ Matson, Andrew (20 July 2002). "De La Soul - Stakes Is High - Tommy Boy (RapReviews "Back to the Lab" series)". RapReviews. Retrieved 20 July 2002.
  7. ^ Sprague, David (August 8, 1996). "Stakes Is High". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  8. ^ Caramanica, Jon (2004). "De La Soul". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 224–25. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  9. ^ Salamon, Jeff (August 1996). "De La Soul: Stakes Is High". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 5. New York. pp. 98–100. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
  10. ^ Brusie, David (18 June 2009). "De La Soul - Stakes Is High". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on 2009-07-18. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert (July 23, 1996). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved December 16, 2018.