De La Soul Is Dead  by De La Soul

Two years after their first record, De La Soul return with De La Soul Is Dead, maintaining the humor and sharpness in their lyrics. The hip hop presented here by De La Soul is guided by producer Prince Paul, who also helped them on their first album.

The album's title was a statement that the members of the group had grown up and were in a different, more mature phase of their lives. Beyond the title, the cover itself, which shows a fallen and cracked pot with daisies, comes to contrast with the cover of the first album that was based on the song D.A.I.S.Y Age. Musically, the second album falls into the alternative rap movement, which primarily uses many samples from jazz and funk music.

The great success of the album was the first single, Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey), which - likely - on an international level - is the song that characterized them as a group. De La Soul Is Dead reached No. 26 on the Billboard and No. 7 in the United Kingdom.