Del Has Fallen Off - Drugs or Allergies?

[Suplexmachine]

Okay so back in like 2002 or 2003 on the Hoopla, a lot of us were wondering why Del started to sound different.

- His voice got deeper (probably just from age)
- His energy was low
- His rhymes and flow started to falter
- He looked like he was about to die at live shows (no energy and looking sickly)
- Even his own production started to get a little too out there ("One Big Trip" as a perfect example)

Rumors began about him getting deep into hard drugs, like possibly heroin or crack.

Del said something about having terrible allergies that just makes him deathly ill. This is possibly the truth, as I heard he was allergic to dust and he can be seen vacuuming on the tour bus in one of the Hiero DVD's (Full Circle Tour I believe).

So...is it really just allergies that made Del start producing fucking terrible-ass beats? And lose his flow? I always loved his production back in the day, and still think his beats on Both Sides of the Brain are super nice. But nowadays his rhymes and beats are truly awful for the most part.

How does allergies turn you into a terrible artist?

:confused::dance:

[switch32]

Good questions. Ones I do not have answers for... However, Parallel Uni-verses is dope! I think Del needs to have someone else do his production. Someone....anyone. Domino, Toure, A Plus, Automator, a chimpanzee, my cat... Anyone but him. Not sure why he thinks he is so good at making beats, but he is misinformed.

[Hieroglyphics]

See, where we disagree is that Del's beats were ever good. Besides "that's when ya lost" and maybe a few other old beats, del's production has always been wack to me. The difference is that before, he still rhymed ill even when a beat was completely ass (like phoney phranchise or Style Police), whereas now his rhyming also sucks when the beat is shitty. But listen to "Keep it up" or "Gaining Ground" or "The ride". When he's rappin over ill beats, he's coming up with some of the illest verses of his career nowadays if you ask me. not necessarily flow-wise but rhyme pattern-wise.

"cats warned me when i was young and ornery
on the corner with a sheet of tabs, and the streets was bad
I'm a dude who help brothers if they need a hand,
But some mothafuckas really aint seein that :bow:

those last couple lines are like 8 syllable rhymes that blew my mind when i heard it del hasnt lost it if u ask me he just needs the right beats.

[Suplexmachine]

See, where we disagree is that Del's beats were ever good... the difference is that before, he still rhymed ill even when a beat was completely ass (like phoney phranchise or Style Police)...

We definitely disagree then, as I think both of those beats are way doper than like 99% of his stuff nowadays. His production on "BM's" off BSOTB blows my mind.:bow:

[Hieroglyphics]

Agree to disagree then. But im with you about the voice change thing its kinda crazy when you think about it. Take Nas or Jay-Z for example neither of their voices has changed much over the years just a lil different from like 20 years back. But then you look at del. The difference between his voice on "Wrong Place" and "Golden Age" from Red X Tapes is like night and day. Cant even tell its the same person.

[Suplexmachine]

Seriously though he started to get so skinny around 2003 or so. He was never a big guy but compare him from now to back in say 1994 or even 2000 and you can tell that these days he's emaciated. The bone structure on his face is especially visible.

I just wonder if he has some serious medical condition that has possibly affected his ability to write quality music.

Also, LMFAO at how his beats got worse AFTER he studied music theory. How the fuck does that happen!? Not only that but you would think he would understand song structure better after studying music, yet so many songs of his now feature a chorus that goes on for WAY TOO LONG. Examples being "Bubble Pop", "Get It Right Now", "Upside Down", "Naked Fonk", "Str8t Up and Down", etc.... all of these songs have choruses that go on two or more bars longer than they should, to the point where I have to skip to the next track! At the end of "Get it Right Now" he repeats the chorus like 800 times and I'm just like...fuck...this is getting annoying...pretty much ruined what could have been a great song! :ugh:

Another thing: Does he really think that damn drum break in "Double Barrel" sounds good?!?:confused: It's so jarring and imo is straight up not needed... and I'm a drummer for fuck-sake!

Cas needs to slap Del around and be like "C'mon dude...you're supposed to be the leader of this click, come correct!" (Not that Hiero members even hang out together very much anymore these days...)

[grand wizard]

also, lmfao at how his beats got worse after he studied music theory. How the fuck does that happen!?

i wondered the exact same thing!!!!

[smug]

He said he had Legionnaires disease at some point. I agree with him falling off hard though. He used to be my favorite, now i won't even download his stuff for free. His beats are unbearable.

[Suplexmachine]

He said he had Legionnaires disease at some point.
He actually confirmed it? Damn, that sucks I hope he is dealing with it okay. :( Well, he definitely seems to have more energy during live performances now than he did around 2004.

[switch32]

The show in Madison, WI with Bukue, and Serendipity was great. He had a lot of energy, and performed really well. Now if he would start making some GREAT new music we would be all set. Getting tired of all these wack Casio keyboard ill timed distorted drum beats with car alarms in the background. Bring on more Parallel Thought produced albums!! Can't wait for Deltron Event II also.

[Hiero Historian]

This has got to be one of ,if not THE stupidest threads I've ever seen on this forum. The endless Del bashing and name calling has really gotten ridiculous at this point. I guess I'm one of a very small minority on this forum who still believes in Del and actually enjoys the new albums he's been releasing . I really enjoyed over half of the songs on 11th Hour and also thought Funk Man was a strong album. I've been able to enjoy all of Del's new albums and just find it difficult to swallow how much hate is tossed at him all the time on this site lately .I think we all get it at this point, EVERYONE hates his production and "new" rhyme flow and he's garbage and no good and has completely fallen off! All I know is the man has pretty much been putting out an album a year ,which is much nicer to me as a fan than after they all got dropped in the 90's and there was just a void and not knowing if we'd get anything new. All he asks once a year is ten dollars for a cd and 15-20 dollars for a show when he tours, most people waste more than that on cigarettes ,booze,Big Macs and crap in a week. I'll support Del and the crew forever because they've proven to me over 20 years that it will be money well spent . He put out a triple cd for around 13 bucks this year, no one else is doing stuff like that and I appreciate things like that as a fan . Just because what he's doing doesn't appeal to you anymore doesn't mean you have to treat him like he's a total piece of shit. Counting 11th Hour and Parralel Universes he's put out something like 5 to 6 new albums over the past couple years plus free leak packs and guest appearances and as far as I'm concerned if you can listen to some 60-70 songs and hear NOTHING you like and call everything crap , horrible etc. than you truly probably aren't a fan of him anymore and should just move on to something else (Del's not putting a gun to your head to make you buy his albums).It's just gotten sad at this point, The only thing that's fallen off lately to me are all these "fans" who get up here and do nothing but insult and tear down either individual members or the whole crew. Give it Up.


Or maybe we can start a new thread that makes just as much sense to me as this one

MAYBE DEL HAS FALLEN OFF CAUSE HE SWITCHED FROM COCO PUFFS TO CHEERIOS !!!;)

[switch32]

Hey, Cheerios are heart healthy!!

[Jim Conway]

Del will always be the man.

[Hieroglyphics]

Hierohistorian is definitely Del's wifey.

[Hiero Historian]

Those comments would really hurt my feelings... if I was still 10 years old ( and stupid) . It sure is nice to be a grown up !:D Thanks for the love !

[Hieroglyphics]

For real though it does seem like your feelins are hurt judgin by how long all your posts are. We get it, Del's never made a wack song in his life and anyone who thinks other-wise is not a real del fan. Gimme a fuckin break

[Hiero Historian]

I actually said things before like:

"I by no means feel that a fan has to like everything a group puts out but lately the tone of some of these comments has been straight up insulting ."

and

"I really enjoyed over half of the songs on 11th Hour ... "

and

"if you can listen to some 60-70 songs and hear NOTHING you like and call everything crap , horrible etc. than you truly probably aren't a fan of him anymore and should just move on to something else "

so I really don't quite think that's the same as saying - " Del's never made a wack song in his life and anyone who thinks other-wise is not a real del fan."
but if that's how you read it , what can I say. No one seems to mind endless pages of Del name calling and different ways of expressing how much he sucks lately so I don't see why anyone cares about someone speaking positively about him too . It's fine if you disagree or call me a woman or a wifey ,that doesn't bother me at all, I was just trying to express the fact that I still appreciate hearing Del and his cds and don't agree with the rampant bashing of EVERY single album and song he's put out since he started producing four years ago.

[Hieroglyphics]

see that's where you're wrong though. It's not true that EVERY song and album he puts out gets bashed. Parallel Universe got mad love and fans appreciated that cus it was great production and del was on point. That's the type of stuff that made us del fans in the first place, not the other type of stuff he's put out lately. I'm sorry but you're clearly in the minority if you think that Funkman, Automatik Statik, Golden Era, or It Aint Illegal Yet are great albums or even good albums. That's all it really comes down to.

[Hiero Historian]

Wasn't really counting Parallel because it's not a Del produced album ( I know that it seems to be the only thing he's put out that people have liked in the last 4 years ) . It's cool though, I've got no problem being in the minority on this one.

And now back to your regular scheduled programming of -

Del Has fallen off - Drugs or Allergies ?

Enjoy the show !

[Suplexmachine]

Hiero_Historian...you are definitely in the minority if you actually enjoyed most of 11th Hour, Funk Man, Automatik Statkik, It Ain't Illegal Yet, and Golden Age. Most people think those albums are poor compared to the classics he use to put out. Not just on this forum, but a lot of forums. Even "professional" reviewers (who I don't rely on btw) give his latest stuff poor ratings.

Yeah, there's a couple tracks off each of these crappy albums that I actually like, but the majority of it is terrible compared to what Del is normally capable of. How does Del go from spittin' fire like he did on albums like BSOTB to what you hear on 11th Hour?!? :confused:

For real though, I doubt you were on the Hiero Hoopla forums back in the day when we myself and all of the other users noticed Del getting sloppy and low on energy. THAT's when the rumors started about his health or possible heavy drug usage.

Del has been my favorite MC for a loooooong time now, trust me when I say I want him to bring the heat, but he just doesn't seem capable these days. I hope he can prove me wrong.

You're in over your head. :slap:

[hero1]

anyone heard that del/casual track flamethrower on casual's bandcamp? straight away you can tell its old del because he spits heat!

[grand wizard]

Thanks for the Golden Era Triple Pack Del! Instead of one CD with crappy beats, you gave us THREE whole CD's worth of crappy beats!!

[Suplexmachine]

Yeah that "Flamthrower" track with Cas is nice, and it does sound like older Del.

BTW I don't wanna' sound like I'm coming off too hard on Del. I actually liked the beats on Golden Age for the most part, and it was a much better release than Funk Man, Auto, or IAIY. Still not up to par with his old ish though. Not even fucking close.

[Dr. HECKTIK]

damn i was so close to getting the triple pack golden era vinyl today. So glad i didn't. Its a shame, I grew up on Del. i still need to check out his new stuff though. still don't have the free internet albums he was giving out. :confused:

[Suplexmachine]

^ Listen to samples of each track on iTunes or Amazon.com and just buy the ones you like. That's my best advice.

[K-Dubbs]

Straight up as a big time Del fan, the dude is just not the same m.c. When Del and Hiero dropped Future Development, 3rd Eye Vision, BSOTB, Gorillaz single, Deltron 3030. I thought Del was top 5 in the game hands down. He was talking straight heat. Since then he has straight disappointed on every release. He even stopped rhyming on 11th Hour & Funk Man. His verses aren't even rhyming on those albums. It Ain't Illegal Yet is ok but compared just not up to par with what Del was. I have yet to listen to Golden Age all the way because the disappointment is just too much. Maybe one day I will but for now I'm enjoying Hierophant and Souls, Rock the Bells NY performance too much to go that route.

[K-Dubbs]

See, where we disagree is that Del's beats were ever good. Besides "that's when ya lost" and maybe a few other old beats, del's production has always been wack to me. The difference is that before, he still rhymed ill even when a beat was completely ass (like phoney phranchise or Style Police), whereas now his rhyming also sucks when the beat is shitty. But listen to "Keep it up" or "Gaining Ground" or "The ride". When he's rappin over ill beats, he's coming up with some of the illest verses of his career nowadays if you ask me. not necessarily flow-wise but rhyme pattern-wise.

"cats warned me when i was young and ornery
on the corner with a sheet of tabs, and the streets was bad
I'm a dude who help brothers if they need a hand,
But some mothafuckas really aint seein that :bow:

those last couple lines are like 8 syllable rhymes that blew my mind when i heard it del hasnt lost it if u ask me he just needs the right beats.

What albums are those tracks ("Keep it up" or "Gaining Ground" or "The ride".) on I've fallen off with checking what Del is dropping curious to hear those if you're feeling em

[Hieroglyphics]

Oh you gotta check out that album its called Parallel Universes and its fire, at least del's parts. Its a collab from del and tame one. Tame one's pretty good on it but del kills it. Keep it up's one of my favorite songs ever. Gaining Ground's on there too. Dunno what album The Ride is off of but del spits fire on it

[K-Dubbs]

Oh you gotta check out that album its called Parallel Universes and its fire, at least del's parts. Its a collab from del and tame one. Tame one's pretty good on it but del kills it. Keep it up's one of my favorite songs ever. Gaining Ground's on there too. Dunno what album The Ride is off of but del spits fire on it

Ah man you're right. I have that album. Lame on my part. I haven't listened to it in awhile. Throwing it on the iphone right now. Going to look around for the Ride. I wonder what that's from

[deltronlive]

Del - The Ride
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jWUbIq41Jg

[chefgummydee]

Just a lil interesting is all.

http://www.hiphopsite.com/2011/09/22/del-dissed-de-la-soul-on-pissin-on-your-steps/

"...Del’s beef with “dance groups” was the main focus of this song, which was likely recorded in 1990, a year after De La Soul’s “Me Myself & I” single was released, a dancefloor hit that thrusted them to platinum status. .."