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When De La Soul came out of Long Island in the late '80s, hip-hop was a different world. At that time, there was room on the charts for a number of different lyrical and production approaches besides the soon-to-be-dominant gangsta rap, including Public Enemy's rapid-fire production and political messages and De La Soul's sunny masterpiece Three Feet High And Rising, with its goofy skits, funky beats and Steely Dan and Johnny Cash samples.
Now, the non-violent "conscious" hip-hop movement that Three Feet High And Rising helped establish is a relatively small niche of the giant rap market, but De La Soul are still very much in the game.
After floundering a bit in an effort to respond to demands that they make their music harder, the trio of Posdnuos, Trugoy and Maceo decided to concentrate on their strengths, and last year they put out their best album in years. The Grind Date combines the trio's lyrical skills with typically quirky samples from the likes of Rick Wakeman and Mountain as well as Jermaine Jackson and The Ohio Players, along with a heavier sound.
"We went into the studio with the vibe of trying to do something as free and comfortable and easy as we did with Three Feet High And Rising," says Trugoy, a.k.a. Dave Jolicoeur. "There were no pressures with that one. We didn't know what you were supposed to make a hip-hop record sound like -- we just went in and recorded. And we tried to mimic that attitude this time.
"We've definitely had people tell us we were too soft, but that doesn't make us feel we have to go into the studio and start talking about carrying nine millimeters or anything. When we think about making our music a little harder and heavier and grittier, we think of it musically, as opposed to lyrically. We'll never get on a record and say things that will set kids in the wrong direction."
They also roped in guests like PE's notorious Flava Flav, who adds his instantly recognizable voice to Come On Down, as well as Common, Ghostface, Carl Thomas and MF Doom.
"Some folks, we always wanted to work with, like Ghostface and Doom," says Trugoy. "But a lot of the other stuff was just listening to the song and going, 'Wow, that sounds like Carl Thomas or Common. And Come On Down was mayhem - it sounded like something that PE would do, so Flava was perfect."
Trugoy is disappointed that De La Soul's planned tour of U.S. college campuses, on which they were to discuss the past, present and future of hip-hop and related topics, has been postponed, but he's still optimistic about the future of the genre.
"Every year that hip-hop's existed there's been good and bad, acceptable and unacceptable, appropriate and inappropriate," he says. "As much as we have artists who might not be setting a great example or making great music, there are other artists who are balancing it out. And that's what hip-hop's all about, finding a balance."