It’s crazy to think that we get a new De La Soul album today. The great Long Island rap trio released their last LP, the crowd-funded and independent ...And The Anonymous Nobody, in 2016; it was their first in 18 years. In recent years, the group has put more energy into getting their classic early albums back into circulation. Their whole catalog finally came to streaming services in 2023, just weeks after the passing of De La Soul member Dave, also known as Trugoy The Dove. But the group recorded more new music before Dave’s passing, and De La Soul’s new and presumably final album Cabin In The Sky is out today.
Cabin In The Sky arrives as part of Legend Has It…, Massive Appeal’s series of new 2025 albums from storied rap veterans. Like the Legend Has It… efforts from Mobb Deep and Big L, Cabin In The Sky is at least partially a posthumous record. Dave’s voice is all over the LP, and it also features his production on a few tracks, as well as beats from giants like DJ Premier and Pete Rock, the latter of whom produced lead single “The Package.”
Many of De La Soul’s contemporaries and admirers make appearances on Cabin In The Sky. Fellow Native Tongue Q-Tip is on the record, and he went through a similar situation when a Tribe Called Quest released We Got It From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service in 2016, after the passing of Phife Dawg. Other guests include Nas, Killer Mike, Slick Rick, Common, Black Thought, Bilal, Yummy Bingham, and Little Dragon’s Yukimi. De La’s old comrade Prince Paul doesn’t seem to be credited, but I hear some of his playful sensibility in the way that the group constructs the album, with fourth-wall-breaking transitions and an opening roll call from Giancarlo Esposito. On first listen, the album’s weary warmth is both comforting and moving. Hear it for yourself below.
Cabin In The Sky is out now on Mass Appeal.
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