gast!’s HipHop Classics - The Premier League pt1

February 2nd, 2008 by gast!

In 1989 the Long Island raptrio De La Soul surprises friend and foe with their playful debut album ‘3 Feet High & Rising’, a positive counterweight to the militant HipHop of Public Enemy (whom they called pubic enemy, LOL) and the Ganxta rap of NWA cs. Besides the usual old skool and funk influences, De La Soul is inspired by pop, jazz, reggae and psychedelic music from way back.

The album is produced by Prince Paul, who also participates in the “skits” on the album. Although skits had been known prior to this groundbreaking record, Prince Paul and De La Soul take the genre to a whole different level.

Several critics and observers labeled the group as a neo-hippie band because the record praised peace and love as well as proclaiming the dawning of “the D.A.I.S.Y. age” (Da Inner Sound, Y’all). Though the trio was uncomfortable with the hippie label, there was no denying that the humor and eclecticism presented the beginning of a new era in HipHop (Native Tongues!). It represented a new path for hip-hop, a reaction to conventions that had turned into clichés.

Prince Paul had already produced some excellent shit for his own group, Stetsasonic, but the masses were unprepared for his work with De La Soul. ‘3 Feet High & Rising’ is an epic collage of sounds, and everything is incorporated; ’60s music, French instructions tapes… everything! The way Prince Paul use samples on this album are the absolute peak of hip-hop creativity, which outsiders fail to understand because of the misconception that sampling equals “relying on other people’s work”.

I’d say this is an album that everybody, HipHop head or not, should listen to and enjoy at least one time in their life, all was it but because of its major impact on the HipHop scene afterwards. And man, are you lucky; this is the 2003 Tommy Boy re-issue, which features an extrafree bonus CD :)

Prelisten? here and here

Piratenschip MP3, 256 Kb

Tracklisting:
1 Intro (2:17)
2 The Magic Number (3:14)
3 Change In Speak (2:33)
4 Cool Breeze On The Rocks (0:46)
5 Can U Keep A Secret (1:38)
6 Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin’s Revenge) (3:25)
7 Ghetto Thang (3:35)
8 Transmitting Live From Mars (1:06)
9 Eye Know (4:06)
10 Take It Off (1:53)
11 A Little Bit Of Soap (0:47)
12 Tread Water (3:54)
13 Potholes In My Lawn (4:14)
14 Say No Go (4:20)
15 Do As De La Does (1:58)
16 Plug Tunin’ (Last Chance To Comprehend) (4:13)
17 De La Orgee (1:11)
18 Buddy (4:56)
19 Description (1:24)
20 Me Myself And I (3:41)
21 This Is A Recording 4 Living In A Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.) (3:16)
22 I Can Do Anything (Delacratic) (0:40)
23 D.A.I.S.Y. Age (3:58)
24 Plug Tunin’ (Original 12″ Version

Bonus CD:
1 Freedom of Speak (We Got Three Minutes)
2 Strickly Dan Stuckie
3 Jenifa (Taught Me) (12″ version)
4 Skip to My Loop
5 Potholes in My Lawn (12″ version)
6 Me, Myself & I (Oblapos Mode)
7 Ain’t Hip to be Labeled a Hippie
8 What’s More (From the Soundtrack Hell on 1st Avenue)
9 Brain Washed Follower
10 Say No Go (New Keys vocal)
11 The Mack Daddy on the Left
12 Double Huey Skit
13 Ghetto Thang (Ghetto Ximer)
14 Eye Know (The Know It All mix)