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8.0
39625
8.0 |
State
So, is First Serve ridiculous? Yes. Ocassionally cheesy? Certainly. Conceptually limp? Absolutely. But it is so refreshingly buoyant and flavoursome that it just doesn’t matter. This is sun dried hip-hop for a huge audience. Vintage De La Soul, in fact
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8.0
39651
8.0 |
Mojo
Unstoppably ace. Print edition only
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7.5
39624
7.5 |
A.V. Club
It’s a breezy, fun exercise in role-playing and escapism from casually assured artists in complete control of their craft, and it thoroughly realizes its modest ambition
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7.0
39623
7.0 |
Clash
‘First Serve’ holds no fear for newcomers, consolidates their legacy, and deserves at least one encore
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7.0
39627
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
In the end, it might not rank alongside De La Soul’s watershed moment 3 Feet High and Rising, but it’s a welcome return to a time when rap music was fun and bursting at the seams with creative samples and hungry emcees
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7.0
40380
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
The fictional MCs get signed, have a hit, bicker and break up –it’s Behind the Music, but funnier
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6.5
39738
6.5 |
hhv.de mag
Cheerful and wrapped up in happy vibes
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6.5
40001
6.5 |
Prefix
Works better less as a cohesive concept album and more when approached as an exercise in storytelling, one of the most basic elements of rap
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6.0
39816
6.0 |
Spin
French duo 2&4’s middling beats can’t dim De La’s corny-yet-sweet-natured rap parody
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6.0
40695
6.0 |
The Irish Times
One for those still yearning for the Daisy Age
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6.0
42560
6.0 |
PopMatters
The closest parallel to First Serve would be De la’s early 2000s AOI releases—defiantly different from what one would expect from these guys, more a collection of studio exercises than an LP up to their usual standards
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6.0
39628
6.0 |
DIY
Despite boasting consistency at a solid chord throughout, don't come looking to 'First Serve' for De La Soul's comeback release. Consider it a curious concept explored by two-thirds of the group
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6.0
39652
6.0 |
Q
Hip-hop veterans receive a little too much French polish. Print edition only
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6.0
39703
6.0 |
BBC
A somewhat flawed but nonetheless enjoyable concept piece from a pair of De La souls
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6.0
39626
6.0 |
The Independent
A teasing taster for the new De La Soul album proper, expected later this year
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