#346 - De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:
DE LA SOUL BIO
This hip-hop trio formed in 1988 in Amityville, Long Island, and the members are Posdnuos (poss-duh-noose), Trugoy The Dove (later on he dropped The Dove), and Maseo, (legal names are Kelvin Mercer, David Jude Jolecoeur, and Vincent Mason respectively). They formed in high school, and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul (who would produce their first 3 albums) when he heard the demo tape for “Plug Tunin”. Maseo’s role in the group was primarily as a DJ but did contribute some vocals. Trugoy (which is yogurt spelled backwards - he picked that name because he really likes yogurt, and once said "I enjoyed eating yogurt. I mean, I eat it a lot.") is one of the rappers, and Posdnuos is the other (the name may be a combination of the reversed words sop, meaning "gift," and sound, a name Mercer went by while acting as a high school DJ). The positive vibes in their lyrics based around the idea of peace and harmony achieved on their first album (that we’re talking about today) made them members of “The Native Tongues Posse”, along with A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, and the Jungle Brothers among others. The Native Tongues Possee was known for positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics that pioneered the sound of sampling and jazz-influenced beats. The group’s Long Island roots may help explain their unique, quirky, spacious and eclectic perspective. Once removed from the hustle of New York City, but close enough to be well familiar with the roots of hip hop culture and music.
BACKGROUND – 3 FEET HIGH & RISING
This is the debut album by the group, released on Tommy Boy Records. The album got its title from the Johnny Cash song “Five Feet High & Rising”. This is definitely not the stereotypical hip hop album, but has all of the elements of the foundation of the next generation of hip hop. Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, "Me, Myself and I". Their positivity meant many observers labeled them a "hippie" group. Writing in retrospect, Rolling Stone magazine's Michael Azzerad calls it "the first psychedelic hip-hop record. One of the most original rap records ever to come down the pike", and an "inventive, playful" record that "stands staid rap conventions on their deaf ear." In The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin credits Prince Paul for helping "create progressive hip hop" with his production on the album, while author John Riordan says "its comedy skits and positive lyrics established the group as a progressive hip-hop act at odds with the increasingly violent image of mainstream rap." They’re credited with introducing the use of those skits as intros and interludes between songs. The Village Voice described this album as the “Sgt. Pepper of hip hop”.
On the Billboard chart, 3 Feet High and Rising hit #1 R&B/Hip hop and #24 in the Top 200. This is by far their biggest commercial success despite producing quality albums afterwards. In 2011, 3 Feet High and Rising was among 25 albums chosen as additions to the Library of Congress' 2010 National Recording Registry for being cultural and aesthetical and also for its historical impact. Coincidentally, Steely Dan's album Aja, from which 3 Feet High and Rising samples, was also named to the registry that year.
For years, De La Soul have been attempting to bring projects like 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul Is Dead to streaming. In 2019, the band's former label Tommy Boy made moves to bring the albums to streaming with a deal that would have seen the group recieve only 10% of the streaming royalties — De La Soul asked fans not to listen to their albums on streaming platforms, and Tommy Boy retreated on its plans to upload the catalogue. Tommy Boy Records, was acquired by Reservoir Music in a $100 million deal. “We’re thrilled” said the group’s Dave “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur. “We have come to a deal between ourselves and Reservoir to release our music in 2021 — our catalog will be released this year, we are working diligently with the good folks at Reservoir, and we sat down with them and got it done pretty quickly actually. Our music will be released in 2021 on all streaming platforms — we’re trying to get the whole catalog out there. It’ll take a minute… a little minute… November.”
But the album and the group’s other early recordings for decades were mired in legal issues with Tommy Boy (read more about that here), stemming both from the extensive use of uncleared samples — a field that was an unexplored Wild West at the time — and the group’s contract with the company, which the members signed when they were teenagers