L.A.'s Dilated Peoples get back to b-boy basics with their long-awaited major-label debut. Longtime darlings of hip-hop's underground, Dilated stays true to their roots with The Platform, combining spare, churning bass hoo... more »ks with Babu's epic turntable episodes. Guest artists like Tha Alkaholiks, Planet Asia, and Freestyle Fellowships' Aceyalone add fuel to the flames set ablaze by the straight-spittings of MCs Iriscience and Evidence. Buoyantly braggadocious, the fellas swap positive abstract poetics with swagger and grace--rhymes like "I never got redemption from an honorable mention / So my lyrics hug the bat with the tightest suspension" thump chests as much as they feed souls. Their constant boasting is also the album's only setback, as all the self-lauding can, and sometimes does, get tired. --Sylvia W. Chan« less
L.A.'s Dilated Peoples get back to b-boy basics with their long-awaited major-label debut. Longtime darlings of hip-hop's underground, Dilated stays true to their roots with The Platform, combining spare, churning bass hooks with Babu's epic turntable episodes. Guest artists like Tha Alkaholiks, Planet Asia, and Freestyle Fellowships' Aceyalone add fuel to the flames set ablaze by the straight-spittings of MCs Iriscience and Evidence. Buoyantly braggadocious, the fellas swap positive abstract poetics with swagger and grace--rhymes like "I never got redemption from an honorable mention / So my lyrics hug the bat with the tightest suspension" thump chests as much as they feed souls. Their constant boasting is also the album's only setback, as all the self-lauding can, and sometimes does, get tired. --Sylvia W. Chan
CD Reviews
Best of 2000
Thomas Magnum | NJ, USA | 07/13/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Famous on the hip hop underground scene, Dilated Peoples burst into the mainstream with what is the best hip hop album so far in the year 2000. This release has been long & much anticipated and the group delivers big time. Tight raps by MC's Iriscience & Evidence and pulsating beats by their DJ Babu create an album full of sonic pleasures. The best cut on the album is "Right On" which includes guest rappers The Alkoholics. With other stand out guests and great songs like the title track, "Annahilation", "Shape Of Things To Come" and "Guarenteed", The Platform is worth your time and money."
The Platform
hipnotik | Atl, Ga | 05/25/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The much anticipated Dilated have come straight with it. Packing in such guest MCs as B-Real, Aceyalone, Defari, Likwit Crew, Asia, Everlast, this album is tight all the way through. Beats by Alchemist, E-Swift, Joey Chavez, Ev, T-Ray, Babu and Kutmasta Kurt, how could this album lack stamina? If you enjoyed the Dilated single...the rest of the album is just as good, even better. Rakka-Iriscience and Evidence's flow and lyrics are unbelievable. A must have for a true underground hip-hop lover."
Hip-Hop Renaissance
M. Salamida | 05/25/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"It's like learning to write wild style. Or your first baby windmill. This is your ticket to the true-school hip-hop renaissance. With their first major-label release, Dilated Peoples deliver 16 tracks sure to blow up but not go pop. Highlights "The Platform," "Service" and "Ear Drums Pop" join underground classics "Work the Angles," "Triple Optics" and "Guaranteed" to make your neck thrust, your hands air scratch and, well, your mind dilate. MCs Iriscience and Evidence spit line after line of brilliant rhyme while newest member DJ Babu serves extra thick licks from the 1200s (that's both sl and sp, son). The legendary Aceyalone heads an all-star guest list. Give a listen, and be reminded of why you loved hip-hop in the first place."
Dilated Peoples save hip-hop from pop artists!
truehiphapa | Sacramento, CA | 05/30/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this isn't puff daddy. this isn't jay-z. and its definitely NOT Eminem. This is REAL hip hop. Not POP music, ala those 3 artists mentioned above. Every track on this album you can feel. Like J5, their cult-following has reached epic porportions.....and this is the cumliation.....a major release...mtv recognition...yet, they do not try to be TRL-friendly (like those 3 above).Everytime I hear this, I reminisce back to seeing them live in November 1999, opening up for Rage. If you ever get the opportuinty to see them live, go. They are well worth the price of admission.Buy the CD. Don't steal it online. Otherwise, the true hip hop artists may die out."
Underground Classic -- REAL hip hop
Pete | 10/24/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is a classic from start to finish. Anyone who rates this less than 5 stars has no idea what hip hop is. They are either listen to eminem d12 g-unit and 50 cent and think that their commerical crap, weak production and pathetic lyrics are good or they arent fans of hip hop at all. Anyway, the beats from The Platform have an incredible underground feel to them, and lyrically they all tear the mic up. Not to mention how ill their flow is. The production is top-notch here also. It's hard to select a few tracks as favorites, but i would have to say The Platform, No Retreat, Right On (definitely the best song here, absolute classic), Years In The Making, and Ear Drums Pop. But all the tracks are classic. Make sure u cop this if u haven't already."
Track Listings (3) - Disc #1