De La Soul: Three Feet High & Rising ---Ink Blot Magazine

De La Soul: Three Feet High & Rising

at a glance...

Hometown: Long Island, NY
Formed: circa 1988

Members:
Posdnous (Kelvin Mercer) -MC
Trugoy the Dove (David Jolicoeur) -MC
Pasemaster Mase (Vincent Mason) -DJ
Prince Paul (Paul Huston) -producer
Jungle Brothers, Tribe Called Quest -guests

Related Artists :
Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Monie Love, Black Star, Mos Def, Q-Tip

Notes:
The trio of Posdnous, Trugoy the Dove and P.A. Pasemaster Mase formed De La Soul ("of the soul") during high school in Amityville, Long Island, New York, and introduced their debut album, Three Feet High & Rising in 1989. The elaborate and quirky song names, strident positivity and laid-back style of Three Feet High along with the Native Tongue collective of the Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah, Monie Love and A Tribe Called Quest, offered a counter-movement to the dominance of gangster rap in the early 90s. In an effort to parlay that fact into record sales, Tommy Boy Records' publicists promoted the group in an over-the-top marketing campaign as the "hippies of hip hop," much to the trio's dismay. Though the album received a surprising popular response, the group somewhat resented the bohemian label spawned from Three Feet and moved toward heavier content and an even quirkier, more off-beat take on topics like the music industry, hangers-on and lawyers for its second LP, De La Soul is Dead, in 1991. The album didn't fare as well as its predecessors, but the back-to-basics approach of 1993's Buhloone Mindstate further exposed the group, along with A Tribe Called Quest, to collegiate and non-traditional hip-hop audiences. A lengthy hiatus between records preceded 1996's Stakes Is High, which countered the lack of mainstream appeal with a strengthened grip on the group's dedicated fan base.

De La Soul
Three Feet High & Rising
Tommy Boy, Released 1989

Looking for the antithesis of daring musical creativity? The hip-hop aisle is usually a safe bet, with few exceptions. However, those that do fly hip hop's artistic flag regardless of geographic origin will point to Three Feet High & Rising as a key moment in the genre's history. Uncommon wordplay that stands the test of time, adventurous sampling and an innocent but witty playfulness all amount to one of the most important albums of its time.

Three Feet established new creative benchmarks on several fronts. This album marks the birth of the "hip-hop skit," for better or worse, thanks to genius producer Prince Paul. And where else will you find a collection of such eclectic samples as the Turtles, "Schoolhouse Rock," Steely Dan and Johnny Cash?

This is a far cry from the giddy hippy rap its promoters promised. Though the density of the lyrics requires heavy decoding, strong messages of truth and solidarity are laced throughout, and De La avoids self-righteous drivel by putting truly funky cuts behind their prose.

"Say No Go" is a perfect example, delivering an anti-drug message well-crafted enough to maintain listeners' attention long after the realization that they were bobbing their heads to a Hall & Oates' sample. The same is true on "Eye Know," an infectious love poem that joins samples from Otis Redding and Steely Dan and captures the trio at that vital creative juncture before expectations affected the product. Other well-received singles off the album include the hugely-popular "Me, Myself and I," "Buddy" (w/ Q-Tip and the Jungle Brothers) and "Potholes In My Lawn," which dispenses caution to lyric-biters. A less-accessible track at the end of the record reveals De La's precocity, however. The awkward-but-catchy beat of "D.A.I.S.Y Age" serves as the essential backdrop to a completely novel rhyme structure that transcends both its predecessors and successors. Although De La wouldn't be able to top this effort on successive albums, neither would any of their peers.

If you like De La Soul, check out:
De La Soul De La Soul is Dead
A Tribe Called Quest People's Instinctive Travels...
Jungle Brothers Done By The Forces of Nature
Brand Nubian One For All
Jurassic 5 Quality Control

-- Jim Welte

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