Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of De La Soul" hosted by DJButterrock De La Soul (/ˌdeɪ lɑː ˈsoʊl/ DAY lah SOHL) is an American hip-hop group formed in the village of Amityville on Long Island, New York, in 1988.[5] They are best known for their eclectic sampling, eccentric lyrics, and contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip-hop subgenres. Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer, David "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur, and Vincent "Maseo" Mason formed the group in high school and caught the attention of producer Prince Paul with a demonstration tape of the song "Plug Tunin' ".

The group's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), has been called "a hip-hop masterpiece".[6] It remains their biggest commercial success, though subsequent albums have continued to receive acclaim. De La Soul is the second Native Tongues group after the Jungle Brothers. In 2006, the group won a Grammy for their collaboration with Gorillaz on their single "Feel Good Inc."[7]

The group has released 10 studio albums and one live album between 1989 and 2025. Their catalog was not available on audio streaming services or digital media stores until 2023 due to contractual disputes and copyright clearances for their extensive sampling. Trugoy the Dove died in 2023.[8]

History
1989–1993: 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul Is Dead
De La Soul's debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, released in 1989, was a critical smash hit in the hip-hop genre. They quickly became prominent members of the Native Tongues Posse along with A Tribe Called Quest, Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, and the Jungle Brothers, among others. The single "Me Myself and I" became a huge hit, further cementing the group's popularity. However, '60s pop group the Turtles sued De La Soul for using a sample from their 1969 hit "You Showed Me" for the interlude track "Transmitting Live from Mars".[9]

Lyrically, much of 3 Feet High and Rising focused on striving for peace and harmony. The album also introduced De La Soul's concept of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" (an acronym standing for "da inner sound, y'all"). As a result, audiences were quick to peg the members of De La Soul as hippies. This stereotype greatly agitated the group's members, as they always envisioned their career as a constantly changing style; this frustration would influence their next recording sessions. In the press kit for 3 Feet High and Rising, the members explained their stage names: Trugoy when reversed spells yogurt, because he liked yogurt, and Posdnuos spelled backwards is "sound sop". The album artwork was designed by radical British artist collective the Grey Organisation.[10]

De La Soul performing at the Dillon Gymnasium in 1991
De La Soul's second album, De La Soul Is Dead (1991), was a much more mature album. It featured a wealth of material that criticized the violent, careless direction in which hip-hop was heading at the time, though it still managed to maintain a light, absurd sense of humor. The cover of the album features a broken daisy flowerpot, symbolizing the death of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" and the imagery that went along with it. The album spawned several singles, including the dark "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa", a tale of a young girl who could no longer take the sexual abuse from her father, and the lead single "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)", a story about people using the group's recent fame to try to launch their own careers.

De La Soul collaborated with Black Sheep on "Fanatic of the B Word" and Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest on "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'"; Prince Paul makes an appearance on the microphone in "Pass the Plugs" with a verse of his own. The album also more prominently featured Maseo as a rapper, providing verses of his own on "Bitties in the BK Lounge", "Afro Connections at a Hi-5", and "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)".

Though it received mixed reviews and did not sell as well as 3 Feet High and Rising, it eventually became a cult classic. The Source listed the album as one of their top 100 hip-hop albums of all time.[11] Initially, the tracks "My Brother's a Basehead", "Kicked Out the House", and "Who Do U Worship?" were only available on the CD. Subsequent vinyl reissues have restored the running order as originally intended.

Cx1DJs We Do Things Different Podcast "Untold Stories of Mase" hosted by DJButterrock
Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975),[1] known professionally as Mase (often stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper.[3] Best known for his work with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs's Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 and quickly found mainstream recognition as Combs's hype man. He guest appeared on Combs's 1997 single "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, while his first two singles as a lead artist, "Feel So Good" (featuring Kelly Price) and "What You Want" (featuring Total), both peaked in the chart's top ten. Released in October of that year, his debut studio album, Harlem World (1997), peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart, was certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and spawned his third top-ten single as a lead artist, "Lookin' at Me" (featuring Combs).[4] His guest performances on labelmate the Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Mo Money Mo Problems" and Combs's "Been Around the World" peaked at numbers one and two on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, that same year.

Mase also performed as part of the hip hop group Children of the Corn, which he formed in 1993 with fellow New York City-based rappers including Cam'ron and Big L. Two years later, he founded the hip hop group Harlem World, which signed with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings. The group's only album, The Movement (1999), and Mase's second album, Double Up (1999), both peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200. The latter preceded a five-year recording hiatus, during which Mase began a separate career as a Christian pastor. He returned to recording with his third album, Welcome Back (2004). It peaked at number four on the chart and spawned the top 40 singles "Welcome Back" and "Breathe, Stretch, Shake" (featuring Puff Daddy).

Despite receiving gold certifications from the RIAA, both albums were met with mixed critical reception and he parted ways with Bad Boy after the latter; his subsequent releases have been few and far between, and each has failed to chart. Mase has founded the record label RichFish Records, through which he signed rapper Fivio Foreign in 2019. During Combs's sexual misconduct allegations and criminal trials from 2024 to 2025, Mase spoke of his previous falling out and dissociation with Combs due to suspected concerns, calling Combs's legal woes