| Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present... First Serve | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 3, 2012 | |||
| Recorded | 2010–2012 | |||
| Genre | East Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop | |||
| Length | 65:26 | |||
| Label | Duck Down Music Inc. PIAS | |||
| Producer | Chokolate & Khalid Filali a.k.a. 2&4 | |||
| De La Soul chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 72/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| The A.V. Club | B[3] |
| Clash | 7/10[4] |
| Consequence of Sound | [5] |
| HipHopDX | [6] |
| Mojo | [7] |
| PopMatters | 6/10[8] |
| RapReviews | 8/10[9] |
| Rolling Stone | [10] |
| Q | [11] |
Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present... First Serve is the eighth album from hip-hop group De La Soul members Kelvin Mercer (a.k.a. Plug 1), and David Jolicoeur (a.k.a. Plug 2), in collaboration with French DJ duo Chokolate and Khalid,[12] released on April 3, 2012.
In the album the duo adopt the persona of "First Serve" a hip-hop band making it in the music industry in the late 1990s. Mercer takes the persona of "Jacob 'Pop Life' Barrow", and Jolicoeur takes the persona of "Deen Witter". The album details the fictional band making it in the music industry, their success, breakup, and eventual reformation.[13]
Jolicoeur and Mercer have been interviewed in character as Barrow and Witter, often quoting De La Soul as an "influence", and describing De La Soul as "those guys".[14]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Opening Credits" | 3:39 |
| 2. | "Pushin' Aside, Pushin' Along" | 4:15 |
| 3. | "The Work" | 4:07 |
| 4. | "Small Disasters" | 2:40 |
| 5. | "We Made It" | 4:29 |
| 6. | "We Made It – Interlude" | 0:49 |
| 7. | "Must B the Music" | 4:09 |
| 8. | "Goon TV – Interlude" | 1:22 |
| 9. | "The Book of Life" | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Clash Symphony" | 3:25 |
| 11. | "Pop Life" | 5:17 |
| 12. | "Tennis" | 4:15 |
| 13. | "The Top Chefs" | 3:00 |
| 14. | "Backstage – Interlude" | 1:32 |
| 15. | "Move 'Em In, Move 'Em Out" | 5:08 |
| 16. | "Ending Credits" | 3:08 |
References
- ↑ "Reviews for DE LA SOUL'S PLUG 1 & PLUG 2 PRESENT...FIRST SERVE by Plug 1". Metacritic. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Jeffries, David (13 February 2023). "First Serve – De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present...First Serve". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Rabin, Nathan (3 April 2012). "Plug 1 & Plug 2: First Serve". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Oliver, Matt (26 March 2012). "De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present – First Serve". Clash. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Staskel, Ryan (2 April 2012). "Album Review: De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present – First Serve". Consequence of Sound. Archived from the original on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Cooper, Roman (2 April 2012). "DE LA SOUL'S PLUG 1 & PLUG 2 PRESENT – FIRST SERVE". HipHopDX. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Unstoppably ace. [May 2012, p.88]
- ↑ Amidon, David (6 June 2012). "FIRST SERVE: DE LA SOUL'S PLUG 1 & PLUG 2 PRESENT... FIRST SERVE". PopMatters. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Gutwillig, Matthew 'Matt G' (13 February 2023). "De La Soul – Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present First Serve". RapReviews. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Tannenbaum, Rob (19 April 2012). "De La Soul's Plug 1 and Plug 2". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2012-07-12. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ↑ Joyously propulsive... [Yet] there's little deviation from a straightforward palette of sticky basslines and boom-bap rhythms. [May 2012, p.95]
- ↑ "Serving up a new treat: De La Soul stars Kelvin and Pos return as First Serve". The Mirror. 29 March 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ↑ Kuperstein, Slava (2 April 2012). "De La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present First Serve". HipHopDX. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ↑ Copsey, Robert (February 21, 2012). "First Serve (De La Soul) interview: "Four is the magic number now"". digitalspy.com. Retrieved 29 April 2012.