Review – De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising - Classic reissued and finally available to stream

Originally printed in Gair Rhydd

At the approach of the 20th century’s conclusion, America’s anxieties were reflected within hip-hop. 1988 had seen the genre firmly enter the mainstream with stunning, no-holds-barred records, notably Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A and It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy, yet a New York fringe movement was quickly gathering pace. It prioritised the optimism in Afrocentrism over violent imagery of guns, drugs, and crime. This positive self-expression style would be coined by De La Soul as “The Daisy Age” and perfectly encapsulated in their masterpiece LP, 3 Feet High and Rising, now finally reissued and available to stream.  

3 Feet High and Rising dreams of an easy-going 90s. It’s a classic ‘party’ record for all moods: it uses playfulness and good humour but isn’t afraid of a good funk. De La Soul’s eccentric three MCs, who refer to themselves here as Plug One, Plug Two, and Plug Three are all instantly charismatic and so confidently different; not only from each other, but unlike anything else you’ve ever heard over 24 unique tracks. Their liberation through inside jokes, innuendos and all kinds of silliness is completely novel; it’s very accessible for newcomers to hip hop.  

 

You may know the irresistible buoyancy of ‘The Magic Number’ already, a souped-up sweet lullaby, bolstered by a sample lifted from the Velvet Underground’s Sunday Morning and gleefully brisk: “fly rhymes are stored on a D.A.I.S.Y. production - it stands for "Da Inner Sound, Y'all". it’s the biggest hit from the album and featured in the recent Spider-Man film. ‘Buddy’ has a terrific groove to get lost in, you’ll start rocking in your chair like a baby; with perfect flow from Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest (my other favourite hip hop group), and the Jungle Brothers. ‘Eye Know’ is a bright love song in which Plug One and Two offer their affections in a very sweet way: “Hold my hand and we'll pick my plantation of Daisies for a bouquet of Soul”. In its Otis Redding whistle and hazy horns, it’s wonderfully evocative of sunset over Amityville.  

 

The record speaks through a thoroughly American vocabulary of stars of the 20th century – there’s more than seventy samples, their sheer diversity evident in names such as James Brown, The Ramones, Johnny Cash and Steely Dan. It’s a haven for music fans. Yet these entertaining reinventions are partly why it has been so hard to hear; it’s complex licensing issues meant De La Soul has pinballed between labels in the digital age with none sufficiently making the move. Until now.  

 

It's great news for the group that after years of negotiations this album is finally coming to streaming platforms so new audiences - particularly young people - can access its magnificence. For my money, it’s the most creative, entertaining, and just plain greatest hip hop album ever made. I compel you to shake, rattle, roll onto Spotify, Apple Music and everywhere else from 03/03/2023 – see what they did there?!