"Stakes Is High" is a single by De La Soul

De La Soul

De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...

 released in 1996 from their album Stakes Is High

Stakes Is High

Stakes Is High is De La Soul's fourth full-length album, released during the summer of 1996. The album marked a change in the groups sound and direction as it was their first release not to be produced by Prince Paul. Stakes Is High was mainly produced by the group themeselves with additional...

.

Overview

Released during the height of the East Vs. West (coast) rap rivalries, "Stakes..." was a relentless attack on what De La saw as a decline, not only in hip hop music, but also in hip hop culture. The song included many memorable lines such as Posdnous' "Gun control

Gun control

Gun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...

 means using both hands in my land...". Dave's input was no less restrained: "I'm sick of bitches shakin' asses / I'm sick of talkin' about blunts / Sick of Versace glasses / Sick of slang / Sick of half-ass awards shows / Sick of name brand clothes..."

Posdnous also makes a point to inform us that the Native Tongues are still together when he states: "A meteor has more right than my people / Who be wastin' time screaming who they've hated / That's why the Native Tongues have officially been re-instated" An announcement which was furthered by appearing with old friends such as A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...

 in the video.

The song was one of the earliest mainstream productions to be handled by hip hop producer Jay Dee. The B-Side to the single was "The Bizness", featuring Common

Common (rapper)

Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....

. This song talks about the music industry.

Music video

The music video for "Stakes Is High" has all three members of De La Soul on an episode of The Maury Povich

Maury Povich

Maurice Richard "Maury" Povich is an American TV talk show host who currently hosts his self-titled talk show Maury.-Personal background:...

 Show (with Povich appearing as himself) about hip-hop culture in the 1990s and how much of an influence it is on the world, along with clips of each De La Soul member doing typical household chores (raking leaves, doing laundry, etc).

Track listing

1. "Stakes Is High (Album Version)"
2. "Stakes Is High (Instrumental)"
3. "Stakes Is High (A Cappella)"
4. "The Bizness (Album Version)"
   • Guest Appearance: Common
     Common (rapper)
     Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....
     
     
5. "The Bizness (Clean Version)"
   • Guest Appearance: Common
6. "The Bizness (Instrumental)"

Personnel

"Stakes Is High"

Produced by Jay Dee

Co-Produced by De La Soul

Written by K. Mercer

Kelvin Mercer

Kelvin Mercer is a rapper, producer, and one-third of the hip hop trio De La Soul. He is known more famously by his alias Posdnuos, or simply Pos. He was born in the Bronx, New York and grew up in East Massapequa, New York.Mercer and David Jude Jolicoeur were childhood friends...

, D. Jolicoeur

David Jude Jolicoeur

David Jude Jolicoeur , also known under the stage name Trugoy and more recently Dave, is an American rapper, producer, and one third of groundbreaking hip hop trio De La Soul....

, V. Mason

Vincent Mason

Vincent Mason , is a rapper, producer, DJ, and one third of groundbreaking hip hop trio, De La Soul. He is also known as Maseo.-Career:...

 & J. Yancey

Published by Tee Girl Music/Daisy Age Music (BMI)/Ephcy Music (ASCAP)

Contains samples from "Mind Power" by James Brown

James Brown

James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

 and "Swahililand" by Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal

Ahmad Jamal is an innovative and influential American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. According to Stanley Crouch, Jamal is second in importance in the development of jazz after 1945 only to Charlie Parker...

"The Bizness"

Featuring Common

Produced by De La Soul

Written by K. Mercer, D. Jolicoeur, V. Mason & L. Lynn

Published by Tee Girl Music/Daisy Age Music (BMI)

Common appears courtesy of Relativity Records

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak Position
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	53
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	55

External links

• "Stakes is High" (Hip-Hop is Dead Remix) by Haroon Al-Qahtani