The Culture Corner: Why De La Soul's 'Buhloone Mindstate' matters 30 years on

XPN | By Raina Douris,

John Morrison

Published October 31, 2023 at 10:18 AM EDT

In 1993, De La Soul was an established group in a fast-growing genre.

That year, they released their third album, Buhloone Mindstate — and it was a record that displayed a new level of maturity but also a sense of adventure and musical exploration.

"Buhloone Mindstate helped expand rap music as an art form," World Cafe correspondent John Morrison of the album. "I think that it inspired a lot of people to dig a little deeper with the lyrics and with the emotion."

For today's Culture Corner, John takes you deep into De La Soul's Buhloone Mindstate — what to listen for, how it changed the game, and why it still matters 30 years on.

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Raina Douris

Raina Douris, an award-winning radio personality from Toronto, Ontario, comes to World Cafe from the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), where she was host and writer for the daily live, national morning program Mornings on CBC Music. She was also involved with Canada's highest music honors: hosting the Polaris Music Prize Gala from 2017 to 2019, as well as serving on the jury for both that award and the Juno Awards. Douris has also served as guest host and interviewer for various CBC Music and CBC Radio programs, and red carpet host and interviewer for the Juno Awards and Canadian Country Music Association Awards, as well as a panelist for such renowned CBC programs as Metro Morning, q and CBC News.

See stories by Raina Douris

John Morrison

John Morrison is a writer, DJ, and sample-flipper from Philadelphia. As a writer, his work has appeared in NPR Music, Bandcamp Daily, Jazz Tokyo, Grammy.com, and more. He is also the host of Culture Cypher Radio, a hip-hop radio show on NPR member station WXPN.