Cabin in the Sky (De La Soul album)
| Cabin in the Sky | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 21, 2025 | |||
| Genre | Hip-hop | |||
| Length | 70:20 | |||
| Label |
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| Producer | ||||
| De La Soul chronology | ||||
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| Legend Has It... chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cabin in the Sky | ||||
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Cabin in the Sky is the ninth studio album by American hip-hop group De La Soul, released on November 21, 2025. It is the group's first album since the death of member Trugoy the Dove, who died in 2023, and features previously unreleased vocals from him.[1] It is the sixth and penultimate album in Mass Appeal's "Legend Has It..." series of albums released in 2025.
Background
In March 2025, De La Soul teased that they would be reuniting with their former producer Prince Paul for a new album.[2][3] They previously collaborated with him on their first three albums.
On April 16, 2025, Mass Appeal announced a series titled Legend Has It..., which features seven albums coming in 2025 from various artists such as: Nas and DJ Premier, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Mobb Deep, De La Soul, Big L, and Slick Rick.[4][5]
The album was released on November 21, 2025.[6]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[7] |
| Metacritic | 81/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [9] |
| Clash | 8/10[10] |
| The Guardian | [11] |
| MusicOMH | [12] |
| NME | [13] |
| Paste | 7.8/10[14] |
| Pitchfork | 7.4/10[15] |
| Rolling Stone | [16] |
| The Times | [17] |
Cabin in the Sky received widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 81, based on 11 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[8]
Robin Murray of Clash wrote that "there's no need to know the full context to enjoy Cabin in the Sky", further stating, "As one of the most straight-forwardly enjoyable hip-hop albums 2025 has offered us, you’d be hard-pushed to top it for entertainment."[10] NME's Fred Garratt-Stanley wrote, "While De La Soul's social commentary is incisive, at its core this is an album about David Jolicoeur and the space he's left behind. In examining the impact he had on their personal and creative lives, the group's surviving members highlight the late rapper's pivotal role in US hip-hop history, and exemplify why they're continually hailed as some of the movement's most treasured voices."[13]
The Guardian's Shaad D'Souza felt that the album can "feel like a slog, with the end lacking the sprightliness of the album's first half".[11]
Accolades
| Publication | Accolade | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| AllMusic | Best of 2025 | — | [18] |
| Complex | The 50 Best Albums of 2025 | 40 | [19] |
| HotNewHipHop | The 40 Best Rap Albums of 2025 | 33 | [20] |
| Paste | The 25 best rap albums of 2025 | 23 | [21] |
| The Ringer | The 25 Best Albums of 2025 | 8 | [22] |
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Cabin Talk (Album Intro)" (with Giancarlo Esposito) | De La Soul | 3:18 | |
| 2. | "Yuhdontstop" |
| Dave | 4:06 |
| 3. | "Sunny Storms" |
| DJ Premier | 3:24 |
| 4. | "Good Health" |
| Supa Dave West | 2:27 |
| 5. | "Will Be" (with Yummy Bingham) |
| Posdnuos | 1:26 |
| 6. | "The Package" |
| Pete Rock | 3:13 |
| 7. | "A Quick 16 for Mama" (with Killer Mike) |
| Nottz | 2:59 |
| 8. | "Just How It Is (Sometimes)" (featuring Jay Pharoah and Gareth Donkin) |
| Erik & Joshua | 4:29 |
| 9. | "Cruel Summers Bring Fire Life!!" (with Yukimi) |
|
| 2:19 |
| 10. | "Day in the Sun (Gettin' wit U)" (with Q-Tip and Yummy Bingham) |
| Supa Dave West | 4:17 |
| 11. | "Run It Back!!" (featuring Nas) |
|
| 3:30 |
| 12. | "Different World" (featuring Gina Loring) |
| Pete Rock | 3:38 |
| 13. | "Patty Cake" |
|
| 3:43 |
| 14. | "The Silent Life of a Truth" |
| DJ Premier | 3:39 |
| 15. | "En Eff" (with Black Thought) |
| DJ Premier | 4:19 |
| 16. | "Believe (In Him)" (with Stout and K. Butler & the Collective) |
| Supa Dave West | 4:12 |
| 17. | "Yours" (with Common and Slick Rick) |
| Pete Rock | 4:02 |
| 18. | "Palm of His Hands" (with Bilal) |
| Pete Rock | 3:48 |
| 19. | "Cabin in the Sky" |
| Supa Dave West | 3:48 |
| 20. | "Don't Push Me" |
| Dave | 3:43 |
| Total length: | 70:20 | |||
Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.[23]
De La Soul
- Posdnuos – lead vocals (all tracks), programming (tracks 11, 18)
- Maseo – lead vocals (1–7, 9–15, 17–20), programming (11, 18), background vocals (16)
- Dave – lead vocals (2, 4, 6, 9, 13, 20), programming (11, 18, 20)
Additional musicians
- Giancarlo Esposito – lead vocals (1)
- Black Thought – background vocals (2), lead vocals (15)
- Ebony Brown – background vocals (2)
- Supa Dave West – background vocals (2), programming (4, 10, 11, 16, 19)
- Sean C – background vocals (2, 4)
- DJ Premier – programming (3, 14, 15)
- Jay Pharoah – background vocals (4), lead vocals (8)
- Yummy Bingham – lead vocals (5)
- Pete Rock – programming (6, 12, 17)
- Killer Mike – lead vocals (7)
- Nottz – programming (7)
- Gareth Donkin – lead vocals (8)
- Yukimi – lead vocals (9)
- Nas – lead vocals (11)
- Gina Loring – lead vocals (12)
- Sam Wish – keyboards (13), programming (13)
- Jake One – programming (13)
- K. Butler & the Collective – choir vocals (16)
- Stout – lead vocals (16)
- Common – lead vocals (17)
- Slick Rick – lead vocals (17)
- Bilal – lead vocals (18)
Technical
- David P. Kaufman – engineering (all tracks), mixing (18)
- Morgan Garcia – engineering (4, 10, 13)
- Dave Plug 2 – engineering (6, 9)
- Blair Wells – mixing (1, 7)
- Rich Keller – mixing (2, 4, 13, 19, 20)
- DJ Premier – mixing (3, 14, 15)
- Troy Hightower – mixing (5, 8, 16)
- Jamey Stubb – mixing (6, 12, 17)
- Pete Rock – mixing (6)
- Nottz – mixing (7)
- Supa Dave West – mixing (10, 11)
- Scott Slagle – mixing (10, 11)
- Chris Athens – mastering
- Ben Lorenz – sound recording (2)
- Joe Sleep – sound recording (2)
- King of Chill – additional mixing (3, 14, 15)
- Nef – additional mixing (3, 14, 15)
- Parks – additional mixing (3, 14, 15)
Charts
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Download Albums (Billboard Japan)[24] | 67 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[25] | 11 |
| UK R&B Albums (OCC)[26] | 15 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[27] | 47 |
| US Top Current Album Sales (Billboard)[28] | 37 |
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | November 21, 2025 |
|
[29] |
References
- ^ Bustard, Andy (October 13, 2025). "De La Soul's New Album Title Is A Tribute To Trugoy The Dove". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 16, 2025.
- ^ Setaro, Shawn (March 12, 2025). "De La Soul On Reuniting With Prince Paul For New Album: 'It Feels Right'". HipHopDX. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Eustice, Kyle (March 11, 2025). "EXCLUSIVE: De La Soul's "Good Problems" Keep Popping Up". AllHipHop. Retrieved November 18, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Fisher, Carol (April 16, 2025). "Mass Appeal Announces "Legend Has It" Series Featuring New Albums From Nas, De La Soul & More". Hot New Hip Hop. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ Moore, Sam (April 16, 2025). "Nas & DJ Premier, Mobb Deep & De La Soul Lead Mass Appeal's Epic 2025 Albums Lineup". HipHopDX. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
- ^ M. Centeno, Tony (October 13, 2025). "De La Soul Shares Inspiration Behind New Album Title, Confirms Release Date". iHeartMedia. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
- ^ "Cabin In The Sky by De La Soul reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
- ^ a b "Cabin in the Sky by De La Soul". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 29, 2025. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
- ^ "Cabin in the Sky - De La Soul | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ^ a b Murray, Robin. "De La Soul – Cabin in the Sky". Clash. Archived from the original on November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad. "De La Soul: Cabin in the Sky review – a full-colour celebration of Trugoy the Dove that never feels heavy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ^ Shepherd, Sam (December 2, 2025). "De La Soul - Cabin In The Sky | Album Reviews". MusicOMH. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ^ a b Garratt-Stanley, Fred. "De La Soul – 'Cabin in the Sky' review: a grand, moving tribute to late member David Joliceur". NME. Archived from the original on November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ^ Sun, Benny. "Excessive run time be damned, Cabin in the Sky is quintessential De La Soul". Paste. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on November 26, 2025. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
- ^ Green, Dylan. "De La Soul: Cabin in the Sky". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
- ^ Reeves, Mosi (November 25, 2025). "De La Soul Overcome Grief by Embracing the Promise of Life". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 26, 2025.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Will. "De La Soul: Cabin in the Sky review — we need more joyous hip-hop like this". The Times. Archived from the original on November 25, 2025. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
- ^ "AllMusic Best of 2025 | AllMusic 2025 in Review". AllMusic. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "The 50 Best Albums of 2025:". Complex. December 4, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "The 40 Best Rap Albums Of 2025". HotNewHipHop. March 9, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "The 25 best rap albums of 2025". Paste Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2025". The Ringer. December 11, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "Cabin In The Sky / De La Soul / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
- ^ "Billboard Japan Top Download Albums – Week of November 26, 2025". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved November 27, 2025.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 29, 2025.
- ^ "De La Soul Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ "De La Soul Chart History (Top Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
- ^ "Cabin In The Sky by De La Soul on Apple Music". Apple Music. November 21, 2025. Retrieved November 26, 2025.