AOI: Bionix is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on December 4, 2001. The album was the second in a planned three-disc installment, which was originally intended to be a three-disc album. It was the last De La project released on Tommy Boy.
| AOI: Bionix | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | December 4, 2001 | |||
| Genre | Hip hop | |||
| Length | 55:15 | |||
| Label | Tommy Boy | |||
| Producer |
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| De La Soul chronology | ||||
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| Singles from AOI: Bionix | ||||
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Overview
editThe first single, "Baby Phat" featuring Yummy Bingham and Devin the Dude, was an ode to larger sized women. Elsewhere, "Held Down", featuring Cee-Lo, found Posdnuos in an introspective mood as he mused on fatherhood, religion, and fame. Slick Rick also made an appearance on "What We Do (For Love)"; a humorous song about puberty and sexual discovery. Plans were made to release the Kev Brown-produced "Special" (featuring Yummy Bingham) as the second single, however Tommy Boy soon folded as a label, cutting short any further promotion of Bionix. Like many Hip-Hop albums, there is an official instrumental version of the album available on vinyl, with artwork.
Interludes
editThe album featured skits with a character by the name of Reverend Do Good, which worked as social commentary as well as the intros and outros of the songs. The final Reverend Do Good skit acts as one final advertisement for Ghost Weed as heard on De La Soul's previous album, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. A mischievous teenager takes a hit of the substance, then morphs into Slum Village frontman J Dilla, who provides the intro and outro to the marijuana-themed song "Peer Pressure" (which he also produced).
Critical reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 77/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Robert Christgau | A[5] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[3] |
| HipHopDX | [4] |
| Pitchfork | 7.8/10[7] |
| Q |  [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
| Uncut | [10] |
| USA Today | [9] |
| Vibe | [11] |
The album received generally favorable reviews. Robert Christgau stated: "Sampling Tavares, Wings, Dr. Buzzard, Laura Nyro, and the Fat Boys--but just barely, more as a sign of what they've been playing than of how they want to sound—they flow as smooth as the '70s grooves they once left back in the old school. Philosophically woman-friendly and musically woman-dependent, they segue effortlessly into Slick Rick sex ed and the orgasmic mock-mock-melodrama of 'Pawn Star'; their gospel chorale is no less on concept than their Reverend Do Good takeoffs. Anyone who ever wondered what hip hop might sound like when it grew up now has an answer. It sounds like a good marriage in a black 'burb, complete with doubts, weed, and a principled refusal to ignore the existence of Somalia."[5]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro" | De La Soul | 0:29 | |
| 2. | "Bionix" | Supa Dave West | 2:43 | |
| 3. | "Baby Phat" (featuring Devin the Dude and Yummy Bingham) |
| Supa Dave West | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Simply" |
| Supa Dave West | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Simply Havin'" | De La Soul | 0:48 | |
| 6. | "Held Down" (featuring CeeLo Green) |
| Posdnuos | 4:54 |
| 7. | "Reverend Do Good #1" |
| 1:05 | |
| 8. | "Watch Out" (featuring José "Perico" Hernández) |
| Supa Dave West | 3:37 |
| 9. | "Special" (featuring Yummy Bingham) |
| Kev Brown | 3:36 |
| 10. | "Reverend Do Good #2" |
| 1:14 | |
| 11. | "The Sauce" (featuring Philly Black) | Supa Dave West | 2:25 | |
| 12. | "Am I Worth You?" (featuring Glenn Lewis) |
| Supa Dave West | 4:01 |
| 13. | "Pawn Star" (featuring Shell Council) | De La Soul | 4:06 | |
| 14. | "What We Do (For Love)" (featuring Slick Rick) |
| Megahertz | 5:04 |
| 15. | "Reverend Do Good #3" |
| 2:20 | |
| 16. | "Peer Pressure" (featuring B-Real) |
| J Dilla | 5:09 |
| 17. | "It's American" |
| 1:10 | |
| 18. | "Trying People" |
| Def 2 U | 4:31 |
| Total length: | 55:17 | |||
Charts
edit| Chart (2001) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[12] | 105 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[13] | 119 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] | 60 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[15] | 162 |
| US Billboard 200[16] | 136 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[17] | 31 |
References
edit- ^ "AOI: Bionix Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ Bush, John. De La Soul: AOI: Bionix > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ^ Serpick, Evan (7 December 2001). "AOI: Bionix (2001)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-04-21.
- ^ "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". HipHop DX.com. 7 December 2001. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert. "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ^ Ex, Kris (17 January 2002). "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17.
- ^ Haywood, Brad (February 24, 2002). "De La Soul: AOI:Bionix". Pitchfork.
- ^ Barrett, Christopher (December 2001). "De La Soul - AOI: Bionix". Q (185): 121.
- ^ Jones, Steve (4 December 2001). "Rap". 'Ali' soundtrack joins other album champs. USA Today.
- ^ De La still think and sound like no one else. [Feb 2002, p.114]
- ^ Chang, Jeff (January 2002). De La Soul, AOI: Bionix. Vibe.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "De La Soul ARIA chart history (albums) to 2024". ARIA. Retrieved July 20, 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
- ^ "Lescharts.com – De La Soul – AOI: Bionix". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – De La Soul – AOI: Bionix". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ "Chart Log UK 1994–2010". zobbel - Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ "De La Soul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
- ^ "De La Soul Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2023.