AOI: Bionix

AOI: Bionix is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group De La Soul, released on December 4, 2001. The album was the second in a planned three-disc installment, which was originally intended to be a three-disc album. It was the last De La project released on Tommy Boy before the label became defunct.

AOI: Bionix
Studio album by
De La Soul
ReleasedDecember 4, 2001
GenreHip hop
Length55:15
LabelTommy Boy
ProducerDe La Soul, Supa Dave West, Kev Brown, Megahertz, J Dilla, Deaf 2 U Inc.,
De La Soul chronology
Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
(2000)		 AOI: Bionix
(2001)		 Timeless: The Singles Collection
(2003)
Singles from AOI: Bionix
  1. "Baby Phat"
    Released: November 6, 2001
  2. "Trying People"
    Released: July 14, 2023
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic77/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[3]
HipHopDX[4]
Robert ChristgauA[5]
Rolling Stone[6]
Pitchfork7.8/10[7]
Q[8]
USA Today[9]
Uncut[10]
Vibe[11]

Overview

The first single, "Baby Phat" featuring Yummy Bingham and Devin the Dude, was an ode to larger sized women. Elsewhere, "Held Down", featuring Cee-Lo, found Posdnuos in an introspective mood as he mused on fatherhood, religion, and fame. Slick Rick also made an appearance on "What We Do (For Love)"; a humorous song about puberty and sexual discovery. Plans were made to release the Kev Brown-produced "Special" (featuring Yummy Bingham) as the second single, however Tommy Boy soon folded as a label, cutting short any further promotion of Bionix. Like many Hip-Hop albums, there is an official instrumental version of the album available on vinyl, with artwork.

Interludes

The album featured skits with a character by the name of Reverend Do Good, which worked as social commentary as well as the intros and outros of the songs. The final Reverend Do Good skit acts as one final advertisement for Ghost Weed as heard on De La Soul's previous album, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. A mischievous teenager takes a hit of the substance, then morphs into Slum Village frontman J Dilla, who provides the intro and outro to the marijuana-themed song "Peer Pressure" (which he also produced).

Track listing
AOI: Bionix
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro" De La Soul0:29
2."Bionix"
Supa Dave West2:43
3."Baby Phat" (featuring Devin the Dude and Yummy Bingham)
  • Mercer
  • Jolicoeur
  • Mason
  • West
Supa Dave West3:50
4."Simply"
  • Mercer
  • Jolicoeur
  • Mason
  • West
Supa Dave West4:05
5."Simply Havin'" De La Soul0:48
6."Held Down" (featuring CeeLo Green)
  • Mercer
  • Jolicoeur
  • Mason
Posdnuos4:54
7."Reverend Do Good #1" 
  • De La Soul
  • Kevin Lewis
  • Troy Hightower
1:05
8."Watch Out" (featuring José "Perico" Hernández)
  • Mercer
  • Jolicoeur
  • Mason
  • West
Supa Dave West3:37
9."Special" (featuring Yummy Bingham)
Kev Brown3:36
10."Reverend Do Good #2" 
  • De La Soul
  • Kevin Lewis
  • Troy Hightower
1:14
11."The Sauce" (featuring Philly Black) Supa Dave West2:25
12."Am I Worth You?" (featuring Glenn Lewis)
Supa Dave West4:01
13."Pawn Star" (featuring Shell Council) De La Soul4:06
14."What We Do (For Love)" (featuring Slick Rick)
Megahertz5:04
15."Reverend Do Good #3" 
  • De La Soul
  • Kevin Lewis
  • Troy Hightower
2:20
16."Peer Pressure" (featuring B-Real)
J Dilla5:09
17."It's American" 
  • De La Soul
  • Kevin Lewis
  • Troy Hightower
1:10
18."Trying People"
  • Mercer
  • Jolicoeur
  • Mason
  • Lucious Mercer
  • Neal Forrester
  • Salavander Parker
Def 2 U4:31
Total length:55:17

Charts
Chart performance for AOI: Bionix
Chart (2001) Peak
Position
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 119
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 60
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 162
US Billboard 200[15] 136
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[16] 31

References
  1. "AOI: Bionix Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. Bush, John. De La Soul: AOI: Bionix > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  3. Serpick, Evan (7 December 2001). "AOI: Bionix (2001)". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2009-04-21.
  4. "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". HipHop DX.com. 7 December 2001. Archived from the original on July 21, 2009. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
  5. Christgau, Robert. "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  6. Ex, Kris (17 January 2002). "De La Soul: AOI: Bionix". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17.
  7. Haywood, Brad (February 24, 2002). "De La Soul: AOI:Bionix". Pitchfork.
  8. Barrett, Christopher (December 2001). "De La Soul - AOI: Bionix". Q (185): 121.
  9. Jones, Steve (4 December 2001). "Rap". 'Ali' soundtrack joins other album champs. USA Today.
  10. De La still think and sound like no one else. [Feb 2002, p.114]
  11. Chang, Jeff (January 2002). De La Soul, AOI: Bionix. Vibe.
  12. "Lescharts.com – De La Soul – AOI: Bionix". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  13. "Swisscharts.com – De La Soul – AOI: Bionix". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  14. "Chart Log UK 1994–2010". zobbel - Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  15. "De La Soul Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  16. "De La Soul Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
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