Hip-Hop

With clever wordplay, a quirky sense of humor and an imaginative way of utilizing samples, De La Soul have long been celebrated as one of the most creative, influential groups in hip-hop.

However, throughout the lifetime of digital music streaming, the first six albums created by Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove and Maseo have been more-or-less unavailable thanks to sample clearance issues and various other industry hurdles.

Finally, in the summer of 2021, that began to change. Rights to the Long Island trio’s former label Tommy Boy were acquired by Reservoir Media – and after that, it was a matter of time before the group retrieved their masters.

Now, those first six albums are finally available for public consumption in the digital domain. Unfortunately, the long-overdue campaign transpires as De La Soul copes with the Feb. 12, 2023, death of Trugoy (born David Jude Jolicoeur) at 54. A cruel twist of fate, but the newfound availability of their catalog will no doubt only punctuate the importance he had on the hip-hop landscape.

The newly available sextet of albums consists of the trio’s classic 1989 debut 3 Feet High and Rising; its follow-up 1991 masterpiece De La Soul Is Dead; 1993’s jazzy Buhloone Mindstate; 1996’s rugged Stakes Is High, 2000’s Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump; and 2001’s AOI: Bionix.

These albums join the trio’s more recent albums – including 2004’s The Grind Date and 2016’s And The Anonymous Nobody… — on Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music and the like, giving a brand new generation of music fans the opportunity to discover the humor, intelligence and poignancy De La Soul brought to the table for decades.

But if you’re not already a De La diehard, where do you start in their catalog to best absorb the essence of the knowledge kicked by the Plugs? Most everyone somewhat familiar with the group knows their biggest hit, “Me Myself and I,” which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in 1989 and reached the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. And while the tune is a perfect conduit into the heart of hip-hop’s Daisy Age, De La Soul have so many classic jams that it’s unfair for them to be defined strictly by their biggest hit.

For better acuity, Billboard has selected 10 additional De La Soul cuts that stand as the trio’s finest works on wax to wit. Rest in Peace, Dave.

“Royalty Capes” (2016)

After a 12-year break between albums (although the period did see them collaborate with the Gorillaz on the top 20 Hot 100 hit “Feel Good Inc.”), De La returned in 2016 with And The Anonymous Nobody…. Lead single “Royalty Capes” let everyone know they were back for their flowers, with majestic trumpets announcing the trio’s return. Adding further gravitas is the song’s video, which is prefaced by Dave detailing his congestive heart failure diagnosis.

“Rock Co.Kane Flow” feat. MF Doom (2004)

We should be thankful we got at least one De La/DOOM banger while MF Doom and Trugoy still walked among us. On this song from 2004’s The Grind Date, the Supervillain and the Plugs tear up a hallelujah beat by Seattle’s Jake One. Before this song, the closest Doom and De La ever got to collaborating was when 3rd Bass’ “The Gas Face” (the recording debut of Doom) was sampled for the De La Soul track “Oodles of O’s” more than a decade earlier. Listen here.

“Trying People” (2001)

The final track on the second installment of the intended AOI trilogy is hip-hop at its most emotional. Few emcees could invoke such weight like Trugoy, who rapped in the same key of sincerity that the likes of Billy Joel and Paul Simon sang in. And on “Trying People,” he lets us in like never before as he admits: “Years just blow by /My eyes stay fixed but the picture’s kinda outta focus / I cry a lot but admit to it / Enjoyin’ life now but I’ve been through it.” Exhibiting this kind of vulnerability was practically unheard of in the rap game at the time. But the honesty Trugoy displayed on this song no doubt opened the doors for acts like Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar. Listen here.

“All Good?” feat. Chaka Khan (2000)

In contrast to Dave’s lament about R&B singers over BS tracks on “Stakes Is High,” De La Soul recruited genuine soul royalty in 2000 with Chaka Khan singing the hook for this successful single off the trio’s fifth album Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. Despite its pessimistic chorus, the song itself found Pos and Trugoy in top lyrical form as Ms. Khan cruises inside a funky De La beat. “All Good?” also brought the group some chart action, reaching No. 96 on the Hot 100, No. 6 on Hot Rap Songs and No. 41 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Listen here.

“Stakes Is High” (1996)

One of Dove’s hottest moments on the mic was his indelible list of grievances in the second verse of the J Dilla-kissed title cut to De La’s 1996 classic Stakes Is High. “I’m sick of R&B b-tches over bullsh-t tracks, cocaine and crack that brings sickness to Blacks,” he laments over a reverberating horn blast plucked from the 1974 Ahmad Jamal song “Swahililand,” speaking on the toxic flamboyance of that mid-‘90s era. Listen here.

“I Am I Be” feat. Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee-Wee Ellis (1993) 

If “Buddy” was a declaration of unity among the Native Tongues crew, this somber missive from 1993’s jazzy Buhloone Mindstate reveals fractures in the bond keeping the crew together. “Or some tongues who lied/And said ‘We’ll be natives to the end,’” Pos laments over a beat sourced from the Lou Rawls hit “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” and featuring the legendary JB Horns (Maceo Parker, Fred Wesley and Pee-Wee Ellis) on brass. “Nowadays we don’t even speak/I guess we got our own life to live/Or is it because we want our own kingdom to rule?” It’s that level of pure honesty that makes “I Am I Be” such an essential part of the De La songbook. Listen here.

“Keepin’ the Faith” (1991) 

Another crowning example of Prince Paul’s penchant for seamless sample layering. Here, he brings together 10 different songs — including snippets of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” Bob Marley’s “Could You Be Loved” and “Just A Touch Of Love” by Slave – to build an unstoppable groove. Pos and Trugoy bless this beat burger with some of their best verses on De La Soul Is Dead, flexing inside slang with a bravado that brings it on home. Listen here.

“Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)” (1991) 

The first single off their post-Daisy Age masterpiece saw Pos, Trugoy and Maseo set the scene for East Coast hip-hop in the early ‘90s with this ridiculously funky lament, built around an obscure 1981 disco song by The Whatnauts, about cats hassling the guys to check out their demo tapes. In a tribute to Dave on social media, Pos alluded to the tune when he wrote “for now on when we perform ‘Ring Ring Ring Ha Ha Hey’ we will say ‘2-2-2-2-222 we got an angel in heaven who can talk to you.’” 

“Eye Know” (1989)

This 3 Feet highlight is an early example of the genius of producer Prince Paul and his crafty deployment of samples. On this uplifting love song, it’s the combination of Otis Redding’s whistle from “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay,” the guitars and horns from The Mad Lads hit “Make This Young Lady Mine,” the drum break off Lee Dorsey’s “Get Out Of My Life, Woman” and the vocal hook from “Peg” by Steely Dan that gives Pos and Trugoy their wings to fly high on a lyrical plane that finds both men extolling the virtues of ascending to De La heaven. 

“Buddy (Native Tongue Decision)” feat. Q-Tip, Phife Dawg, Queen Latifah, Monie Love and Jungle Brothers (1989)

Native Tongues were one of the all-time great crews in the hip-hop storybook. And while it’s unfortunate the conscious posse never lasted long enough to create a full album together, “Buddy” forever offers a taste of the magic captured by De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah and Monie Love on this ode to friends with benefits — with Trugoy leading the charge. Check out the seven-minute extended remix for maximum boogie. Friendship never sounded so fresh on wax. Listen here.