De La Soul came storming back after four years of recording inactivity -- and practically a decade out of the hip-hop limelight -- with a promise to release three full albums in a series they dubbed
Art Official Intelligence. From the first volume,
Mosaic Thump comes some hip-hop/soul with "U Can Do (Life)."
Posdnuos' raps are occasionally thoughtful and clever, but he seems obsessed with being as hardcore as
DMX or
Jay-Z. There are a few solid productions by outsiders (
Ad Lib's "My Writes,"
Jaydee's "Thru Ya City,"
Rockwilder's "I.C. Y'All." with
Busta Rhymes), but most of
Mosaic Thump was produced by
De La Soul themselves. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide