De La Soul does not get their due. In hip hop or in music, period. Yes, among their more regrettable contributions to hip hop was being the first group to include "skits" on their albums. On most albums, these are terrible. On De La Soul's albums, they are usually brilliant. Nestled halfway between a skit and a song is the obscure b-side "Who's Skatin' Promo" off their 1991 single "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'", from their second album De La Soul Is Dead.
There is not a more fun and silly song in their august canon. Sampling McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now", it's basically a compilation of colorful call-in promotions from various characters in honor of a fictitious radio station. After this lead off track on my summer mix from a few years ago, the charge was to keep up the fun.
The next song is an instrumental of Outkast's "Hey Ya!"
Then: Syreeta's funky cover of her ex-husband Stevie Wonder's "I Love Every Little Thing About You", Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" remix with Ol' Dirty Bastard, a UFO remix of Sarah Vaughn's haunting take of the standard "Summertime", the watery ""Black Ego" by Digable Plants, Atlanta Rhythm Section's groovy "So Into You", the sweet distortion of "Bragging Party" by Kim Deal's post-Breeders band The Amps, Method Man's chaotic "Dangerous Grounds" featuring Streetlife, Josh Rouse's giddy "Slaveship", a bossa nova cover of The Rolling Stones' "Under My Thumb" by Anakelly, the Stones ballad "Fool To Cry", Tom Waits' weepy "Blind Love", and the bittersweet "It'll All Work Out" by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.
Two songs repeat this week. Blind Willie Johnson's ferocious "Nobody's Fault But Mine" makes the more electrified version by Led Zeppelin sound relatively tame. Sonny & Cher's sweet "All I Ever Need Is You" is given a soulful, countrified take by Ray Charles.
