It has been years that I have been meaning to pay homage to De La Soul's seminal classic "Stakes Is High", with an original remix of my own. Why so long? Well, to begin with, messing with classics is always tricky: you're not really supposed to touch them. Especially this one; considering it's impact then and since, and how it has been brilliantly re-interpreted by my man DJ Spinna as well as J Dilla, it's no average track. So I couldn't come with just any old beat, it had to be something compelling.
It finally came together last year (2018) while I was holidaying in a faraway sunny place: somehow the beautiful open blue & sunny sky just got me inspired one day (hence the name for the remix), and I cooked up this bass-propelled heavy groove that immediately conjured up the vocals of De La's 1995 warning shot and call to arms for authentic hip-hop (as in the equation: rap - lies = hip-hop) & its lovers.
The song largely tracks the originals, with the scratch fest at the end as bonus. That makes it a bit longer, maybe too long for those with short attention spans, but no joint is complete in my book unless it gets some proper turntable action; hopefully this segment will prove worth the wait.
May this inspire much head nodding and enjoyment to you & yours. Please share this widely if you enjoyed it, and of course share feedback. Peace, love and blessings to Pos, Dave, Maseo & J Dilla for blessing us with this gem. De La forever!
Oh, and if you want to see it, there is a video too - here is the link:
youtu.be/YsiHARhNzsw