Buhloone Mindstate

Last updated
Buhloone Mindstate
Buhloone Mindstate.png
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 21, 1993 (1993-09-21)
Genre
Length48:14
Label
Producer
De La Soul chronology
De La Soul Is Dead
(1991)
Buhloone Mindstate
(1993)
Clear Lake Audiotorium
(1994)
Singles from Buhloone Mindstate
  1. "Breakadawn"
    Released: August 31, 1993
  2. "Ego Trippin' (Part Two)"
    Released: 1994

Buhloone Mindstate is the third studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul. It was released on September 21, 1993, through Tommy Boy Records, and was the group's last record to be produced with Prince Paul.

Contents

Title

Buhloone is a phonetic spelling of the English noun "balloon". Posdnous described the title as meaning "we're popular but not trying to make pop music." [1] This theme is laid out in the intro track, which starts with the sound of a balloon being inflated; then the hookline "it might blow up, but it won't go pop" is repeated over and over, until the sound of a balloon popping replaces the final word "pop".

Songs and guests

De La Soul continued its early- to mid-1990s experimentations with jazz by featuring jazz veterans Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley, and Pee Wee Ellis, on "Patti Dooke" and "I Am I Be". The song "Patti Dooke" deals with what the group sees as the mainstream's efforts to control the direction of black music. Posdnuos raps:

I'm known as the farmer
Cultivatin' mate without mendin'
Bendin', compromising any of my styles to gain a smile
Listen while you hear it
There's no pink in my slip
I reckon that the rhythm and the blues in the rap got me red
While the boys from Tommy playing bridge crossin' to a larger community
Yet they're soon to see I have a brother named Luck

The Japanese rappers Scha Dara Parr and Takagi Kan make an appearance on "Long Island Wildin'" while Biz Markie appears on "Stone Age" and Guru does the spoken chorus of "Patti Dooke". Dres of Black Sheep appears on "En Focus", and the album heavily features Shortie No Mass. The album was preceded by the single and video "Breakadawn", which features samples from Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help It" and Smokey Robinson's "Quiet Storm".

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Chicago Sun-Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [4]
Christgau's Consumer Guide A [5]
Entertainment Weekly A+ [6]
Music Week Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
NME 8/10 [8]
Pitchfork 9.1/10 [9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [10]
The Source 4.5/5 [11]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 8/10 [12]

At the end of 1993, Buhloone Mindstate was voted the eighth best album of the year in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics nationwide, published by The Village Voice . [13] Robert Christgau, the poll's creator and supervisor, ranked it fifth best on his own year-end list. [14] In a contemporary review, Rolling Stone critic Paul Evans said the record was more focused than De La Soul's previous albums and also more ambitious sonically: "Musically, Buhloone Mindstate raises the stakes; it gets to something rap seldom achieves – a truly gorgeous groove." [15] In 2005, comedian Chris Rock named it the 10th greatest hip hop record of all time in a list published by Rolling Stone . [16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason, P. Huston, except where noted.

Buhloone Mindstate track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Intro"K. Mercer, D. Jolicouer, V. Mason, P. Huston, L. Dickens0:52
2."Eye Patch" 2:27
3."En Focus" (featuring Shortie No Mass and Dres of Black Sheep) 3:15
4."Patti Dooke" (featuring Guru, Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis) 5:54
5."I Be Blowin'" (featuring Maceo Parker) 4:58
6."Long Island Wildin'" (featuring Scha Dara Parr and Takagi Kan) 1:30
7."Ego Trippin' (Part Two)" 3:52
8."Paul's Revenge" 0:43
9."3 Days Later"K. Mercer, D. Jolicouer, V. Mason, P. Huston, A. Snyder, T. George2:39
10."Area" 3:31
11."I Am I Be" (featuring Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee Wee Ellis)K. Mercer, D. Jolicouer, V. Mason, P. Huston, B. Gordy, B. Davis, F. Wilson, P. Holloway 5:03
12."In the Woods" (featuring Shortie No Mass) 4:01
13."Breakadawn"K. Mercer, D. Jolicouer, V. Mason, P. Huston, R. Jones, W. Robinson, S. Wonder, S. Greene 4:14
14."Dave Has a Problem...Seriously" 0:55
15."Stone Age" (featuring Biz Markie) 4:13
30th anniversary bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
16."Sh.Fe.MC's" (featuring A Tribe Called Quest)04:35
17."Lovely How I Let My Mind Float" (featuring Biz Markie)04:05
18."Mindstate"03:47

Charts

Chart performance for Buhloone Mindstate
Chart (1993)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [17] 120
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [18] 40
UK Albums (OCC) [19] 37
US Billboard 200 [20] 40
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [21] 9
2023 chart performance for Buhloone Mindstate
Chart (2023)Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22] 54
UK Independent Albums (OCC) [23] 25

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