De La Soul: Stakes Is High (4LP, 30th anniversary edition) [AOI]

Why you'll love it

The 30th anniversary 4LP set adds "Yunonstop", instrumental edits of the whole album, "Chanel No. Fever", "I Can't Call It" and two J Dilla remixes of the title track. The original was their first album without Prince Paul, and Jay Dee produced its title song.

This edition

• 30th anniversary edition
• 4LP set
• Instrumental edits of the full album
• Bonus songs and J Dilla remixes of "Stakes Is High"

About the album

By 1996 De La Soul had decided the daisy age was over. Stakes Is High, out on Tommy Boy that July, was the first album they made without producer Prince Paul, and Posdnuos, Trugoy and Maseo produced most of it themselves, with help from a Detroit up-and-comer then called Jay Dee. The record takes aim at the state of hip-hop, its commercialization and gangsta rap, with an opening montage of people remembering where they first heard Boogie Down Productions' Criminal Minded.

It also introduced a lot of people to Mos Def, who turns up on "Big Brother Beat", while Common drops by for "The Bizness" and Zhané sings on "4 More". The title track, built by Jay Dee, became one of the group's best-known songs.

This 30th anniversary set gives the album four discs of room: the album with "Yunonstop" restored, instrumental edits of every track and a handful of extras. Thirty years later, the stakes are, if anything, a little higher.

Tracklist

Listen

Out October 23, 2026 on AOI (cat# RMM1035), a reissue of the 1996 album.