De La Soul | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Amityville, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Works | De La Soul discography |
| Years active | 1988–present[5] |
| Labels | |
| Members | |
| Past members | Trugoy the Dove |
| Website | wearedelasoul |
De La Soul (/ˌdeɪlɑːˈsoʊl/DAY lahSOHL) is an Americanhip-hop group formed in the village ofAmityville onLong Island,New York, in 1988.[5] They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evolution of thejazz rap andalternative hip hop subgenres.Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer,David "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur, andVincent "Maseo" Mason formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producerPrince Paul with a demonstration tape of the song "Plug Tunin' ".
The group's debut album,3 Feet High and Rising (1989), has been called "a hip-hop masterpiece".[6] It remains their biggest commercial success, though subsequent albums have continued to receive acclaim. De La Soul is the first, longest-standingNative Tongues group, after theJungle Brothers. In 2006, the group won aGrammy for their collaboration withGorillaz on their single "Feel Good Inc."[7]
The group has released 10 studio albums and one live album between 1989 and 2025. Their catalog was not available on audio streaming services or digital media stores until 2023 due to contractual disputes and copyright clearances for their extensive sampling. Trugoy the Dove died in 2023.[8]
De La Soul's debut album,3 Feet High and Rising, released in 1989, was a critical smash hit in the hip-hop genre. They quickly became prominent members of theNative Tongues Posse along withA Tribe Called Quest,Black Sheep,Queen Latifah, and theJungle Brothers, among others. The single "Me Myself and I" became a huge hit, further cementing the group's popularity. However, '60s pop groupthe Turtles sued De La Soul for using asample from their 1969 hit "You Showed Me" for the interlude track "Transmitting Live from Mars".[9]
Lyrically, much of3 Feet High and Rising focused on striving for peace and harmony. The album also introduced De La Soul's concept of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" (an acronym standing for "da inner sound, y'all"). As a result, audiences were quick to peg the members of De La Soul ashippies. This stereotype greatly agitated the group's members, as they always envisioned their career as a constantly changing style; this frustration would influence their next recording sessions. In thepress kit for3 Feet High and Rising, the members explained theirstage names: Trugoy when reversed spells yogurt, because he liked yogurt, and Posdnuos spelled backwards is "sound sop". The album artwork was designed by radical British artist collective theGrey Organisation.[10]
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De La Soul's second album,De La Soul Is Dead (1991), was a much more mature album. It featured a wealth of material that criticized the violent, careless direction in which hip hop was heading at the time, though it still managed to maintain a light, absurd sense of humor. The cover of the album features a broken daisy flowerpot, symbolizing the death of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" and the imagery that went along with it. The album spawned several singles, including the dark "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa", a tale of a young girl who could no longer take the sexual abuse from her father, and the lead single "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)", a story about people using the group's recent fame to try to launch their own careers.
De La Soul collaborated with Black Sheep on "Fanatic of the B Word" andQ-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest on "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'"; Prince Paul makes an appearance on the microphone in "Pass the Plugs" with a verse of his own. The album also more prominently featured Maseo as a rapper, providing verses of his own on "Bitties in the BK Lounge", "Afro Connections at a Hi-5", and "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)".
Though it received mixed reviews and did not sell as well as3 Feet High and Rising, it eventually became a cult classic.The Source listed the album as one of their top 100 hip-hop albums of all time.[11] Initially, the tracks "My Brother's a Basehead", "Kicked Out the House", and "Who Do U Worship?" were only available on the CD. Subsequent vinyl reissues have restored the running order as originally intended.
The group's third studio release, 1993'sBuhloone Mindstate, saw the group evolve a new sound as they continued to grow stylistically and musically. Several moments on the album proved the band had matured. "I Be Blowin'" was a departure, as the track was an instrumental featuring saxophone playing byMaceo Parker. The introspective "I Am I Be" showed De La Soul at their most self-referential to date with subject matter about Pos' daughter Ayana Monet, as well as his grandmother. "Long Island Wildin'" was a collaboration with Japanese hip hop artists Kan Takagi (Major Force) and trio Scha Dara Parr. The album's first single, "Breakadawn", used a sample of Michael Jackson's "I Can't Help It" and Smokey Robinson's "Quiet Storm". De La Soul collaborated for the first time withGang Starr'sGuru on "Patti Dooke", female MCShortie No Mas, a cousin of Posdnuos', was prominent on many tracks on the album, showcased particularly "In the Woods". The album ended with an old-schoolBiz Markie collaboration called "Stone Age". Missing from vocal duties is Mase, whose voice can only be heard on "Area" in a break near the end of the track. Also rarely featured is his scratching, which was heard often on previous albums, with only "In the Woods" showcasing his talent in that area. The album was a critical success, but it was the biggest commercial failure for the group at the time of its release. Many publications, such asRolling Stone, have listed this album as one of the best hip hop albums of all time.
In 1994, 500 copies of a promotionalEP calledClear Lake Audiotorium were released on clear vinyl and CD. The six-track EP contained edited versions of tracks fromBuhloone Mindstate, but also featured the tracks "Sh.Fe.MC's" (Shocking Female MC's), which was a collaboration with A Tribe Called Quest, and "Stix & Stonz", which featured old-school hip-hop artists Grandmaster Caz, Tito of Fearless Four, Whipper Whip, LA Sunshine, and Superstar. The EP was widely bootlegged afterwards.
Stakes Is High (1996) was the first album not produced by Prince Paul, with overall production credits given solely to the trio. Although it was met with poor sales, it has been critically lauded for its music, lyricism, and overall message concerning the artistic decline rap music began to face in the mid-'90s. Thetitle track and first single, produced byJ Dilla, was not a hit, but the album's second single, "Itzsoweezee (HOT)", with only Dave on vocals, did fare better due to its creative music video. The album spawned a third single, "4 More", featuringZhane, which peaked at number 52 in the UK. The album did provide a launching pad for future star rapper and actorMos Def, who appeared on the track "Big Brother Beat". The album also featured collaborations withCommon, Truth Enola, and theJazzyfatnastees.
In 2000, De La Soul launched theSpitkicker Tour, a U.S.-wide tour first hosted by De La Soul, Common, Biz Markie, Talib Kweli, and Pharoahe Monch.[12] That same year, they established theSpitkicker collective, which grew to include progressive hip-hop artists, comedianDave Chappelle, chefMarcus Samuelsson, and others.[13] De La Soul also announced that they would release a triple album series entitledArt Official Intelligence (AOI). All three albums were intended to be released within a year, beginning with the release ofArt Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. This was followed byAOI: Bionix in late 2001. After this, however, the third and final album in the AOI series was never released. For the next two years, the only De La Soul releases were singles or remix compilations. David "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur stated in an interview thatabout four years usually were needed for the group to record an album, promote it with advertisements, tour, and so on. The group was having trouble finishing the last AOI installment for many reasons, one of which was an ongoing struggle withTommy Boy Records,[citation needed] which had been releasing its albums ever since its debut.
In the summer of 2002, De La Soul toured withCake,Modest Mouse,The Flaming Lips,Kinky, and theHackensaw Boys during the Unlimited Sunshine Tour. The band was briefly featured in the video gamePaRappa the Rapper 2 with the song "Say 'I Gotta Believe!'", featuringDouble, and also appeared on the soundtrack of the game.
In 2004, De La Soul released a new full album:The Grind Date on Sanctuary/BMG Records because the venture between Tommy Boy and Warner Bros. Records was shut down and the group's contract was shopped to the otherWEA labels. The band thought about having its contract absorbed byElektra Records, but it decided to leave WEA altogether. Although it was not the third AOI album fans had been expecting, the album was released to some critical acclaim and was well received by most fans. The album features guestsMF Doom,Ghostface Killah, Butta Verses, andFlavor Flav, with production from9th Wonder,Jake One,Madlib, and more. The lead single "Shopping Bags (She Got from You)" did not fare very well and set the tone for disappointing commercial acceptance. In conjunction with the album's release, the group also offered up the track "Come on Down" featuring Flavor Flav for remixing on Sony's Acid Planet website. The winning remix was "Come on Down (KY Raised NY Glazed)" by Interlude Jones, who said he tried to "take the influential sound of old New York hip hop and marry it back to its roots."
In 2005, De La Soul collaborated with Gorillaz on the hit single "Feel Good Inc.", which won aGrammy forBest Pop Vocal Collaboration (the first Grammy win in the group's career) after being nominated for three other Grammys.[7][14] De La Soul also appeared on theLA Symphony single "Universal" and Posdnuos collaborated with the Portuguese MCBoss AC on a track called "Yo (Não Brinques Com Esta Merda)". The following year, they released mixtapesHip-Hop Mixtape, acovermount with British dance magazineMixmag, andThe Impossible: Mission TV Series – Pt. 1, a release on the group's own AOI Records label.[15] De La Soul collaborated with the athletic sneaker companyNike to produce two versions of theNike Dunk under their skateboarding division,Nike SB.
In 2008, the group joined A Tribe Called Quest,Nas,Tech N9ne,the Pharcyde, and others on the annualRock the Bells tour[16] and were honored at the 5th AnnualVH1 Hip Hop Honors. Later in the year, they collaborated withdan le sac vs Scroobius Pip on a re-recording of the British group's debut single "Thou Shalt Always Kill".
De La Soul returned as a guest on the third Gorillaz studio album,Plastic Beach alongsideSuper Furry Animals frontmanGruff Rhys on the song "Superfast Jellyfish". Two other collaborations were recorded, but did not make the final cut for the album. They were supposed to appear on a track entitled "Sloped Tropics", though this song did not make the final cut. The group remixed indie rockersYo La Tengo's single,"Here to Fall for the Here to Fall" remixes EP, which included remixes byRJD2 andPete Rock, and were featured on a remix ofMatt & Kim's single "Daylight" by DJ Troublemaker.
In 2011, the group earned top-five rankings on bothNPR andSoul Train's year-end "Best of" lists with theAmerigo Gazaway-produced De La Soul/Fela Kuti mashup,Fela Soul. De La Soul andNike releasedAre You In?: Nike+ Original Run, which was the group's first original material sinceThe Impossible: Mission TV Series – Pt. 1. The album featuresRaheem DeVaughn, as well as production from the Chicago-based duo Flosstradamus.[17] The recording is a single-track recording at 44 minutes, 17 seconds, part of a continuing series of releases through the Nike+ Sport Music section of the online store.
The group releasedDe La Soul's Plug 1 & Plug 2 presents... First Serve in April 2012, an album that did not feature any contributions from Maseo. With little promotion, the album was released to positive reviews. This was followed by releasing one track a month during 2013.
In March 2015, De La Soul created aKickstarter to help fund their upcoming album. It surpassed the original goal of $110,000 in under 10 hours.[18] The resulting album,And the Anonymous Nobody..., was released in August 2016. Originally planned for an April release,[19] but delayed due to rights issues,[20] the album was preceded by a four-track EPFor Your Pain & Suffering and the single "Pain", featuringSnoop Dogg. The album was nominated at the59th Grammy Awards forBest Rap Album.
De La Soul was featured on the track "Momentz" on Gorillaz’ 2017 albumHumanz,[21] onLeap of Faith by Mr. Jukes, alongsideHorace Andy, and onTom Misch's 2018 single "It Runs Through Me". A 10th studio album, featuring production contributions fromPete Rock andDJ Premier, was reportedly to be released byMass Appeal Records.[22]
At the65th Grammy Awards on February 5, 2023, Posdnuos performed a segment of "Buddy" as part of the ceremony’s tribute to 50 years ofhip-hop music.[23] A week later, Trugoy the Dove died at the age of 54. He had been suffering from congestiveheart failure since 2017.[24][25] His death came only weeks before the release of De La Soul's music onstreaming platforms following their long-fought catalogue disputes. The remaining members of De La Soul and other artists includingNas,Chuck D, andLL Cool J came together for "The DA.I.S.Y Experience",[26] a tribute concert to Trugoy, on March 2, the day before De La Soul's music was released digitally. The re-release of their music led to the group charting in the United Kingdom for the first time since 1990.[27] On February 27, 2023,Gorillaz released the deluxe edition of their albumCracker Island, featuring De La Soul on the song "Crocadillaz".
In September and October of 2023, De La Soul opened forWu-Tang Clan and Nas during the North American stretch of their New York State of Mind Tour.[28] In 2025, it was announced thatCabin in the Sky would be released on November 21 as part ofMass Appeal Records' 2025 album slate (Legend Has It... chronology), featuring production fromDJ Premier,Prince Paul andPete Rock and guest appearances fromKiller Mike,Black Thought,Common andNas.[29] According toMetacritic, areview aggregator,Cabin in the Sky received generally favorable reviews from critics.[30]
De La Soul's back catalog was not released onaudio streaming services ordigital media stores until 2023. Until 2017, it was owned byWarner Music Group, which according to Posdnuos, had been reluctant to clear samples and renegotiate contracts. The samples used in De La Soul's music were only cleared for physical media distribution; the wording of their contracts is not vague enough to enable them to distribute the music digitally on unforeseen technologies.[31][32]
In 2017, De La Soul's catalog was purchased byTommy Boy Records.[33] In February 2019, De La Soul announced that their catalog would soon be available on digital services. However, as they were unhappy receiving 10% of the revenue, with the rest for Tommy Boy, the release was postponed pending further negotiations.[33][34] Hip hop artists includingNas,Pete Rock, andQuestlove called for a boycott of Tommy Boy.[35] In August, De La Soul announced they had been unable to settle the dispute with Tommy Boy and ended negotiations.[36] In February 2020, Posdnuos said that Tommy Boy "sort of came back to the table, we are looking to sort of get it going".[37] In April, Benjy Grinberg, the head ofRostrum Records, said he was attempting to buy Tommy Boy to return the master recordings to De La Soul.[38]
Tommy Boy enlisted the music-licensing companyDMG Clearances to secure clearance for the samples, but talks failed with many of the copyright holders, as they were reticent to become involved with the conflicts between De La Soul and Tommy Boy.[39] On June 4, 2021,Reservoir Media acquired Tommy Boy for USD$100 million.[40][41] On August 8,Talib Kweli announced that De La Soul had gained ownership of their music.[42] In January 2022, DMG Clearances restarted talks with sample copyright owners. It took around a year to license most of the samples; De La Soulinterpolated or replayed samples that could not be cleared.[39]
De La Soul's first six albums were released on audio streaming services on March 3, 2023, the 34th anniversary of3 Feet High and Rising.[43] All their Tommy Boy releases are now owned by De La Soul's company A.O.I., LLC, and are licensed toChrysalis Records, which, like Tommy Boy, is also owned by Reservoir.[44]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | "Me Myself and I" | Best Rap Performance | Nominated | [45] |
| 2001 | "Oooh."(featuringRedman) | Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group | Nominated | [46] |
| 2006 | "Feel Good Inc."(withGorillaz) | Record of the Year | Nominated | [47] |
| Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals | Won | |||
| Best Short Form Music Video | Nominated | |||
| 2017 | And the Anonymous Nobody... | Best Rap Album | Nominated | [48] |
Living in a D.A.I.S.Y. Age The Music, Culture, and World De La Soul Made By Austin McCoy
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| Remix albums | |
| Singles |
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| Touring members | |
| All contributors | |
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| International | |
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| Artists | |
| Other | |
