De La Soul's seventh studio album The Grind Date turned 20 years old last fall, and the trio's surviving members Posdnuos and Maseo are celebrating with an anniversary reissue that'll be out in March. Along with the reissue are two previously unheard tracks recorded during the same album sessions, one of which, "Bigger," is out now.
Initially meant to be the final entry in De La Soul's Art Official Intelligence (AOI) trilogy, The Grind Date boasted an impressive list of collaborators, with J Dilla and Madlib among its producers and guest features from MF Doom, Ghostface Killah, Flava Flav, and Sean Paul. The reissue features "Bigger" along with another previously unheard song called "Respect," plus instrumental versions of a few of the album's original tracks. Posdnuos said in a statement:
With the 20th anniversary of Grind Date we just feel blessed in knowing that we put together this album that, right now, with its re-release feels fresh, it doesn’t feel outdated, the lyrics feel relevant. It really feels good to know that with the re-release of this album it takes myself and Mase back to knowing that this album was the first album done outside of our Tommy Boy relationship and it stands the test of time alongside that catalogue, so yeah it’s a blessing.
Listen to the laid-back, groovy "Bigger" and see the Grind Date (20th Anniversary Edition) tracklist below.
DISC 1:
01 "The Future"
02 "Verbal Clap"
03 "Much More" (Feat. Yummy)
04 "Shopping Bags (She Got From You)"
05 "The Grind Date"
06 "Church"
07 "Doo Good in Church (Skit)"
08 "It’s Like That" (Feat. Carl Thomas)
09 "He Comes" (Feat. Ghostface Killah)
10 "Days Of Our Lives" (Feat. Common)
11 "Come On Down" (Feat. Flavor Flav)
12 "No" (Feat. Butta Verses)
13 "Rock Co.Kane Flow" (Feat. MF DOOM)
14 "Shoomp" (Feat. Sean Paul)
DISC 2:
01 "Bigger" (Feat. Choklate)
02 "Respect"
03 "Verbal Clap" (Instrumental)
04 "Shopping Bags (She Got From You)" (Instrumental)
05 "The Grind Date" (Instrumental)
06 "Days Of Our Lives" (Instrumental)
The Grind Dates (20th Anniversary Edition) is out 3/21 via Daisy Age/BMG.
