All Good?
by De La Soul (featuring Chaka Khan)

Album: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000)
Charted: 33 96
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Songfacts®:

  • "All Good?" is the second single from De La Soul's fifth album, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. It's a collaboration between the group and soul legend Chaka Khan, who sings the hook and bridge.

    "Chaka Khan was amazing," De La Soul's Posdnous told Uncut magazine. "We had a track that was supposed to be with Outkast and Goodie Mob, but they couldn't make it. We thought a great soul voice would fit well, so we approached Chaka, not thinking she'd agree. It was like having a goddess in the studio! She was very cool but a little nervous."

    "We were lucky to have her engineer working on the sessions," he added. "She'd do a tape and we'd think it was amazing, but her engineer would say, 'Yeah, she can do it even better than that.' So he got us to push her.'"
  • The song talks about people who abandoned or shunned De La Soul after their star faded, and those who attempt to hop back on the bandwagon.

    "That song was going to be called 'All Good,' about things being great, but Chaka thought it would be more interesting if we said that it ain't all great," said Posdnous. "Which is why the title now has a question mark after it."
  • Critics gave the thumbs up to Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump, applauding its lyrical depth, genre-bending musical palette, and strident optimism. The album landed at #9 on the US chart, marking De La Soul's first-ever Top 10 debut. The record's impact didn't stop there, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album in 2001.

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