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| De La Soul
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Hailing from Long Island, New York, USA, De La Soul was formed by Posdnous (b. Kelvin Mercer, 17 August 1969, Bronx, New York, USA), Trugoy the Dove (b. David Jude Joliceur, 21 September 1968, Brooklyn, New York, USA), and Pasemaster Mace (b. Vincent Lamont Mason Jnr., 24 March 1970, Brooklyn, New York, USA) who were contemporaries of Queen Latifah, Monie Love and A Tribe Called Quest. With the aforementioned crews they formed the Native Tongues Posse, who were at the forefront of the black renaissance of the early 90s. Less harsh than many of their fellow rappers, De La Soul's pleasantly lilting rhythms helped them chart their debut LP - one of the first such acts to cross into the album market. Produced by Stetsasonic 's Prince Paul, it revealed an altogether delightful array of funky rhythms and comic touches, presenting an influential alternative to the macho aggression of gangsta rap. As well as hit singles like 'Me Myself And I', and 'The Magic Number', they also charted in conjunction with Queen Latifah on 'Mama Gave Birth To The Soul Children' and guested on the Jungle Brothers' 'Doing Our Own Dang'. Some of De La Soul's more esoteric samples ranged from Curiosity Killed The Cat to Steely Dan, though their mellow approach belied difficult subject matter. De La Soul Is Dead, however, saw them return to tougher rhythms and a less whimsical melodic approach. Evidently they had grown tired of the 'hippies of hip-hop' tag dreamt up by their press officer. With over 100 artists sampled, they sidestepped injunctions by gaining clearance from all concerned artists, having previously been sued by the Turtles for sampling 'You Showed Me' on the 3 Feet High And Rising track 'Transmitting Live From Mars'. The painstaking procedure delayed the album for over a year. When it did emerge it was roundly denounced by critics, who were not taken by De La Soul's drastic gear change. However, infectious songs like 'Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)' kept their profile high in the singles chart. Buhloone Mindstate saw them move back towards the stylings of their debut, and received better press, although by now the trio's fortunes had waned and the album quickly dropped off the charts. A similar fate befell 1996's Stakes Is High, which, despite returning to the tougher stylings of De La Soul Is Dead, struggled against the commercial ascendancy of gangsta rap.
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Discography
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Year
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Label
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Title
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1989 |
Tommy Boy
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3 Feet High And Rising
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1991 |
Tommy Boy
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Ring Ring Ring Single
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1991 |
Tommy Boy
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De La Soul Is Dead
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1991 |
Tommy Boy
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Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa Single
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1993 |
Tommy Boy
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Breakadawn Single
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1993 |
Tommy Boy
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Breakadawn Maxi Single
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1993 |
Tommy Boy
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Buhloone Mindstate
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1994 |
Tommy Boy
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Ego Trippin' Maxi Single
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1996 |
Tommy Boy
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Stakes Is High Single
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1996 |
Tommy Boy
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Stakes Is High
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1996 |
Tommy Boy
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Itzsoweezee (Hot) Single
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2000 |
Tommy Boy
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Art Official Intelligence...
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