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"Cabin in the Sky": De La Soul puts the key back in the door…
There are responses that sound like reminders of the rules.
De La Soul come back like old friends you thought had been traveling for ten years, showing up at your door with a new album under their arm. Yes, in 2025. Yes, on Mass Appeal.
Yes, with a list of collaborators that would melt a vinyl record.
Welcome to Cabin in the Sky, ninth album from the legendary trio and first since the departure of Trugoy the Dove in 2023. The emotion is real, but never heavy. It's typical De La Soul : it floats, it grooves, it makes you smile a little and think two seconds later.
Legend Has It… and not just in the brochures
Mass Appeal launched its series earlier this year Legend Has It… : a production line intended for New York monuments.
In the same buffet: Nas & DJ Premier, Ghostface, Raekwon, Mobb Deep, Big L, Slick Rick… And De La Soul, who sign here the sixth chapter.
A cabin, a sky, and a shower of guests
On the album dashboard, you'll find:
Q-Tip, Nas, Black Thought, Bilal, Common, Slick Rick, Killer Mike, but also Giancarlo Esposito (Yes, Gus Fring, bro), Jay Pharoah, Yukimi, Gareth Donkin, Yummy Bingham, and other surprising voices that invite themselves into the booth as if Pos had texted them at 3 a.m.:
"Yo, we're setting something up. Hop on board. ''
On the production side, it's a veritable meeting of magicians: Pete Rock, Nottz, DJ Premier, Jake One, Supa Dave West, Sam Wish, more Pos who left his mark everywhere. c, True to form, he prowls behind the turntables like a spiritual guardian.
Singles: guaranteed delivery
Before the official takeoff, De La Soul had already sent two signs into the sky:
The Package released on November 6th. A title that proves the package always arrives intact, no matter the mishaps.
Day in the Sun (Gettin' wit U) Released on November 14th. A track that smells of light, a little nod to the summer that refuses to die.
A tribute, not a mausoleum
What's striking is how Trugoy literally lives in these tracks. His appearances are integrated with tenderness, without ever falling into the "voice found in the attic" effect. You can feel the touch of family, brothers, the collective; it's an album made with love, not with forced nostalgia.
A comeback that doesn't play museum games
Cabin in the Sky isn't another 3 Feet High. No. The album is different, mature, ethereal, funky when it needs to be, lucid when things get tough, and always perfectly De La Soul : a conversation between past, present and future, in a cabin that floats above all eras.
And above all… it's alive. The kind of alive that makes you nod your head, smile, and say:
"Damn… they're really back. ''
Verdict for the fans
If you've ever screamed Stakes is high! in traffic, if you've ever thought that Pos would be an excellent therapist, if you've ever felt that Trugoy articulated the thoughts that you didn't know how to organize…
Then Cabin in the Sky is your new musical refuge. Native Tongues, once again, you nailed it.
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