Biography

At the time of its 1989 release, De La Soul's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was hailed as the future of hip-hop. With its colorful, neo-psychedelic collage of samples and styles, plus the Long Island trio's low-key, clever rhymes, and goofy humor, the album sounded like nothing else. Where most of their contemporaries drew directly from old-school rap, funk, or Public Enemy's dense sonic barrage, De La Soul were gentler and more eclectic. Though their style initially earned critical raves and strong sales, the group found it hard to sustain their commercial momentum in the '90s as their alternative rap was sidetracked by the popularity of gangsta rap. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Top Tracks

• Click on the track to launch in Spotify

• A Roller Skating Jam Named "saturdays"

• All Good

• Are You In?: Nike+ Original Run

• Baby Baby Baby Baby Ooh Baby

• Baby Phat

• Big Brother Beat

• Bitties In The Bk Lounge

• Breakadawn

• Buddy

• Declaration

• Eye Know

• Friends

• Ghetto Thang

• Halftime

• I Am I Be

• Liquid Swords

• Me Myself And I

• Me, Myself And I

• Much More

• Oodles Of O's

• Oooh.

• Patti Dooke

• Piles And Piles Of Demo Tapes Bi-da Miles (conley's Decision)

• Plug Tunin'

• Potholes In My Lawn

• Relax

• Respect

• Ring Ring Ring (ha Ha Hey)

• Say No Go

• Shopping Bags (she Got From You)

• Simply

• Stakes Is High

• The Bizness

• The Corner

• The Future

• The Magic Number

• What We Do (for Love)

Discography

• Click on the album to launch in Spotify

• Are You In?: Nike+ Original Run

  Nike

  2009

• Live at Tramps, NYC, 1996

  Tommy Boy

  2004

• AOI: Bionix

  Tommy Boy

  2001

• Stakes Is High

  Tommy Boy

  1996

• Buhloone Mindstate

  Tommy Boy

  1993

• De La Soul Is Dead

  Tommy Boy

  1991

• 3 Feet High and Rising

  Tommy Boy

  1989