De La Soul announce 30th anniversary edition of ‘Stakes Is High’
De La Soul have announced a special version of Stakes Is High to celebrate its 30th anniversary.
The trio of Posdnuos, Maseo, and the late Trugoy the Dove released their classic fourth album on July 2nd, 1996.
According to a press release, the expanded release will “honour one of hip-hop’s most influential albums with newly remastered audio, a wealth of bonus material, and exclusive collectable editions for longtime fans and new listeners alike.”
The original album will arrive alongside instrumentals, remixes, and rare recordings, providing an “unprecedented look inside one of our most important creative periods.”
Songs include the J Dilla remix of ‘Stakes Is High‘ featuring Mos Def and Truth Enola, the J Dilla alternate remix, instrumental versions of the complete album, and rare songs like ‘Chanel No. Fever’ and ‘I Can’t Call It’.
The anniversary edition will be released on October 23rd via A.O.I. Records and distributed by Chrysalis. It’s available to pre-order over at De La Soul’s website, alongside exclusive merchandise.
During an interview with Okayplayer in 2023, Maseo reflected on the making of Stakes Is High.
“That record was a milestone, that record was do or die,” he said. “I mean, the whole energy around developing that record, it was a crucial place of not knowing if we was going to continue or we going to be forced to go get regular jobs and become common folk. Because we came off of Buhloone Mindstate, which didn’t have much success at all.”
He added, “The change in the business was taking place. That was like a first major change for us. This was around the time all the indies was like, “We going corporate.” Everybody was doing their mergers.”