| AOI: Bionix | |
| Type: | Album |
| Artist: | De La Soul |
| Cover: | 37530 de la soul - aoi bionix a.jpg |
| Released: | December 4, 2001 |
| Genre: | Hip hop |
| Length: | 55:15 |
| Label: | Tommy Boy |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Year: | 2000 |
| Next Title: | Timeless: The Singles Collection |
| Next Year: | 2003 |
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.
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.
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, . 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).
The album received generally favorable reviews. Robert Christgau stated: "Sampling Tavares, Wings, Dr. Buzzard, Laura Nyro, and the Fat Boys--but just barely, more as a sign of what they've been playing than of how they want to sound—they flow as smooth as the '70s grooves they once left back in the old school. Philosophically woman-friendly and musically woman-dependent, they segue effortlessly into Slick Rick sex ed and the orgasmic mock-mock-melodrama of 'Pawn Star'; their gospel chorale is no less on concept than their Reverend Do Good takeoffs. Anyone who ever wondered what hip hop might sound like when it grew up now has an answer. It sounds like a good marriage in a black 'burb, complete with doubts, weed, and a principled refusal to ignore the existence of Somalia."
| Peak Position | |
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[1] | 105 |
|---|---|
| UK Albums (OCC)[2] | 162 |