De La Soul is an American group formed in 1988 in New York and originally composed of Kelvin Mercer alias 'Posdnuos', David Jolicoeur alias 'Trugoy' and Vincent Mason alias 'Maseo'.
It was producer Prince Paul who first noticed them after he received one of their "Plug tunin'" demos.
It allows them to record their first album "3 feet high and rising" a year later in 1989 and for a first try it is a real masterstroke. The album will be a real worldwide hit and launch the 3 boys on the front of the international scene in a sensational way to say the least...
In particular thanks to the huge Single "Me myself and I" and to a lesser extent "Say no go". An album whose song lyrics are mainly focused on the search for peace and harmony, thus making the group look like a trio of hippies ! Qualifier not really to their taste and which they will hasten to erase in the following album "De La Soul is dead" in 1991.
This album will pour much more in the criticism in particular about the increasingly visible drift of the current Hip Hop. Album with less success but which will still come out with flying colors thanks to the Singles "Ring ring ring (Ha ha hey)" and "A roller skating jam named Saturdays".
New album "Buhloone mindstate" in 1993, album which will be a real flop on its release but which will be considered by critics as one of the reference albums of the hip hop current. Album from which will be extracted mainly the high-caliber Single "Breakadawn".
The following album "Stakes is high", which this time deals in particular with the decline of rap during the 90s, does not really do better despite once again good reviews.
It will be necessary to wait 4 more years to finally see the trio reconnect with success thanks to the release in 2000 of the enormous album "Art Official Intelligence : mosaic thump". Album carried at arm's length by two Singles that are "Oooh" and "All good ?".
First album which was to constitute the first opus of a trilogy which will only have two albums in the end with "AOI : bionix" which will be released in 2001.
Other albums will be released later, but the trio will never regain the level of success achieved in previous decades...
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others…) :
Plug tunin' 1988
Jenifa (Taught me) 1988
Me myself and I 1989
Say no go 1989
Eye know 1989
The magic number 1989
Buddy 1990
Tread water 1990
Mama give bearth to the soul children 1990
Ring ring ring (Ha ha hey) 1991
A roller skating jam named “Saturdays” 1991
Keepin' the faith 1991
Millie pulled a pistol on Santa 1991
Breakadawn 1993
Ego trippin' (Part two) 1994
Fallin 1994
Stakes is high 1996
Istzsoweezee (HOT) 1996
4 more 1997
Stay away 1998
Oooh 2000
All good ? 2000
Thru ya city 2000
Baby phat 2001
Say "I gotta believe !" 2002
Shump 2003
Shopping bags (She got from you) 2004
Rock co. Kane flow 2004
Feel good Inc. 2005
Respect 2006
Forever 2006
Superfast jellyfish 2010
Get away 2013
The people 2014
God it 2015
Trainwreck 2016
Pain 2016
Action ! 2016
Royalty capes 2016
Drawn 2016
Greyhounds 2016
It's like that 2019
Time for summer 2019
Rocket fuel 2019
Remove 45 2020
Clips :
1988...a promising first title but which did not allow the trio to stand out more than that. They're going to have to work a little more, that's clear...
1988... efforts that will finally start to pay off with this title. The rise in power is linear and will necessarily allow them to produce at some point THE title that goes well...
1989...and the title that goes well, there it is ! It didn't take long to see them explode at the highest level and obtain at the same time a planetary mega hit which will remain as the biggest success of their entire discography. HU-GE !
1989...this title will not be able to rise to the same level of success as its predecessor but nevertheless confirms the basic trend that this group is really not like the others...
1989...a beautiful and above all BIG year 1989 with a plethora of titles of more than certain quality. In just 1 year the group has become a real phenomenon and this is only the beginning...
1989...four titles just for this year 1989 and the four will be classified. Admittedly at different levels, but it is the overall performance that is worth saluting...
1990...the transition to the 90s is going to be a little more complicated to manage than expected, but nothing to worry about at this stage, that's for sure...
1990...a year 1990 'inside' as they say. It must be said that given the exceptional level of success of the year 1989, to equal it would have been a real feat...
1990...their status as a phenomenon of the moment allows them to multiply the most diverse partnerships. Starting with this title in the company of Queen Latifah...
1991...which will undoubtedly remain as their most emblematic title. Paradoxically it will not be the best ranked but it will undoubtedly remain as their TITLE of reference. MAS-TER-FUL !
1991...the band literally walked on water in 1991 and chained mega hits at an impressive speed to say the least. When it wants, it wants !
1991...the 'little' hit of the year but a hit nonetheless. Two mega hits and a small hit, that's what we call an overall success !
1991...surprisingly this title on the other hand will pass 'through' as they say. But once again, don't worry about them for the rest of the events...
1993...we will lose sight of them during the year 1992 and here they are again in this year 1993 in a form that we will qualify as certain. In any case, enough to catch up with the leading pack...
1994...the number of titles produced is in free fall but the little produced allows them all the same to remain at the top of the bill. Isn't that the main thing...
1994...new collaboration this time with the Scottish Teenage Fanclub. A mixture of genres for the less surprising but which will work all the same...
1996...new disappearance during the year 1995 and comeback in force in this year 1996. They prefer to produce less but come back as often as possible, which is a strategy that has paid off for the moment...
1996...a year 1996 which allows them to prove that they will still have to count on them in the years to come. Anyway, the message got through...
1997...the year 1997 will not be as favorable to them but that does not prevent them from continuing the adventure quietly and above all surely. An adventure that is far, far from over...
1998...after collaborating with Zhané on the previous title, here they are now alongside Pete Rock and Rob-O. Collaborations of all kinds that will be repeated more and more later...
2000...collaboration this time with Redman, a collaboration that shows once again that the trio is still in the game and in what way...
2000...we suspected that the association with Chaka Khan was going to cause sparks and this will be the case of course. And 1 more mega hit on the clock !
2000...we're not going to lie to each other, the group will never regain the level of success achieved at its beginnings but what he continues to offer is far from deserving, that's clear...
2001...new collaboration this time with Yummy Bingham. The second part of their career will only be made up of this kind of associations of more than certain quality...
2002...this time we are dealing with a triplet with Parappa/De La Soul/Double. A title that works again but with them never bad surprises...
2003...new triplet this time with Sean Paul/De La Soul/Yummy Bingham. An adventure that has lasted for nearly 15 years and is far from over...
2004 ... success is now concentrated exclusively on England but that's it at least. Especially since the quality level manages for the moment to stay at a more than satisfactory level, so no worries about them at this stage...
2004...new collaboration this time with MF Doom. Collaborations always as effective even if the level of success does not necessarily follow accordingly...
2005...it's Gorillaz who will bring them their latest mega hit on a set. When the younger generation appeals to old veterans, it gives this kind of result for the less successful !
2006...a mid-decade 2000 which rhymes with stalling in the Charts. What we feared for some time is unfortunately happening...
2006...that doesn't discourage them in any way. As long as they enjoy doing what they do why would they throw in the towel prematurely...
2010... Gorillaz/Gruff Rhys/De La Soul triplet at the controls of this title. A title that mixes several musical influences in a surprising way...
2013...they begin here their 4th decade of existence with the firm intention of not giving up. And given what they continue to offer, we can only encourage them in this direction...
2014... we find Chuck D at their side on this title. Not necessarily their best composition but the main thing is that they continue to believe in it...
2015... it's Nas's turn to share the bill with the trio. We feel like a slight weakening of the inspiration but just light...
2016...nothing seems able to stop them and they will continue the adventure as far as they can. And it doesn't matter if there is success or not...
2016... here they are alongside Snoop Dogg. They will have spent their careers between them as much as with the participation of others, which is extremely rare to say the least...
2016...a sound evolution towards Dance, to say the least, surprising on their part. Afterwards, it's never too late to evolve as they say...
2016...a year 2016 particularly rich in titles. The Dance parenthesis only lasted a moment and they are back in their usual comfort zone...
2016...new collaboration this time with Little Dragon. A desire to believe in it to the end which undoubtedly commands respect...
2016...then it's Usher's turn to be by their side on this title. Unstoppable little guys, they will continue as long as they can...
2019...new collaboration with Carl Thomas this time, one more you might say. They love to share the poster at first sight and joint projects will always remain as one of their priorities...
2019... it's now Ebony Joi's turn to be present by their side on this title. A decade 2010 which will have seen them disappear from the Charts on the Singles side but surely not from the music scene in any case...
2019... it's DJ Shadow's turn to put them in the spotlight on one of his tracks, the last of the decade for the trio. But surely not the last one, that's clear...
2020...a new decade to add to a career that already has a few. It remains to be seen how they will play it in the future...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :