De La Soul Recruit Chuck D for Hard-Hitting New Track 'The People'

This track is called "The People" and it features the legendary Chuck D from Public Enemy. You can download it for free at our website http://goo.gl/9DWGVZ. The idea for the song came from a couple of samples, and the track's vibe is earnest and has a pressing tone to it. The lyrics are commentaries of our struggles and successes, our weaknesses and strengths... the experiences... and trials and tribulations we have faced as human beings, a race, and as individuals. Lyrically Chuck brings a sense of authority and urgency. The power in his voice demands your attention. With Chuck on the track this is a dream come true for us. Originally "The People" was suppose to drop in June around the same time the Chuck D/Hot 97/Peter Rosenberg situation took place. We chose to hold off and not add fuel to any fires. Our next aim was for a Black Friday release. Coincidentally the Ferguson tragedy took place, and more recently the non-indictment verdict. Somehow this song was destined to be a part of something more than just dropping a joint. We hope it will lend itself to something positive in these difficult times. We created some merchandise for this song that is for sale (The People T-Shirt & Sweatshirt). Proceeds from the merch will be donated to two organizations: All Star Code and I Love Ferguson. All Star Code is an organization that helps under served youth make their way into the tech industry. We've been building, strategizing, and working with developers for the past year, and we understand the importance of education in tech. We have a music tech company that we'll be launching soon called Daisy (http://daisycollective.com/). It's important that we have more people from our community and our culture involved in this space. We just want to do our part in making that happen and ultimately help build the future of music. I Love Ferguson is a organization that's helping to rebuild the town of Ferguson, MO. We feel strong about helping and supporting the small businesses that have been affected in that area.

It's  been a decade since all three members of De La Soul recorded a studio album together, but the 3 Feet High and Rising crew are back with a powerful new song titled "The People." This hard-hitting socially conscious track features a guest appearance by Public Enemy frontman Chuck D. "Lyrically, Chuck brings a sense of authority and urgency. The power in his voice demands your attention," De La Soul's Trugoy tells Rolling Stone of working with the hip hop legend. "It's a dream come true for us."

"The track's vibe was earnest and had a pressing tone to it," Trugoy adds. "The lyrics are commentaries of our struggles and successes, our weaknesses and strengths...the experiences, trials and tribulations we have faced as human beings, a race and individuals. 

While the song's message aligns itself with what's going on across the nation after a grand jury decided not to press charges against Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown, "The People" is almost an accidental anthem for the protestors.

"Originally 'The People' was supposed to drop in June, around the same time the Chuck D/Hot 97/Rosenberg situation took place. We chose to hold off and not add fuel to any fires," Trugoy says. "Our next aim was for a Black Friday release. Coincidentally, the Ferguson tragedy took place and now the non-indictment verdict. Somehow this song was destined to be a part of something more than just dropping a joint. We hope it will lend itself to something positive in these difficult times."

While De La Soul will offer "The People" as a free download (something they're prone to doing), they'll also restock the merchandise section of their official website with some new goods. Proceeds from those sales will benefit I Love Ferguson, which helps out business owners affected by the protests, and All Star Code, a non-profit organization that help young African-Americans learn computer programming.

As for more new music, Trugoy tells Rolling Stone that a new De La Soul album – their first as a trio since 2004's The Grind Date – will arrive in 2015

De La Soul to Make Entire Catalog Available for FREE

In honor of next month's 25th anniversary of their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul are making their entire catalog available for free download for 25 hours on the group's website. The download bonanza will begin on Friday, February 14th at 11 a.m. EST until Saturday at noon.

"It's about allowing our fans who have been looking and trying to get a hold of our music to have access to it," De La Soul member Posdnuos tells Rolling Stone. "It's been too long where our fans haven't had access to everything. This is our way of showing them how much we love them."

The same things that made 3 Feet High and other De La albums so influential — its creative, if not fully licensed, use of a myriad of samples — has also prevented the group's work from appearing on many digital platforms. "It's been a trying journey," admits Posdnuos. "We've been blessed to be in the Library of Congress, but we can't even have our music on iTunes. We've been working very hard to get that solved." The rapper points to frequent personnel changes at record labels and hazy language in early contracts that have led to long delays in properly clearing the group's catalog. 

The release of the group's catalog is the first of numerous upcoming projects. In a few weeks, they'll post new songs to their site, with You're Welcome, their first album since 2004's The Grind Date, expected to be released before summer. Next month will also see the release of Preemium Soul on the Rocks, a six-song EP with three beats each from DJ Premier and Pete Rock. The group is also planning a visit to Detroit to work on an unreleased beat from J Dilla, the prolific producer who passed away in 2006. "Dilla was the Tupac of producers," says Posdnuos. "He has so many unreleased things that no one has heard. His family knows how vital and important an ingredient his music was to our work."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/de-la-soul-to-make-entire-catalog-available-for-free-20140213#ixzz2tJXEU6xm

 

20 Years Ago, De La Soul REFUSED to go POP

De La Soul - Me, Myself And I Link to the Official Old School Hip Hop page on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Old.School.Hip.Hop.Official "Me Myself and I" is a single by De La Soul, released in 1989. It established the group's characteristic style of combining hip hop with humor and social commentary.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of a remarkable year in music. Over the 12 months of 1993, Queen Latifah, Salt 'n' Pepa, Snoop Dogg, A Tribe Called Quest, the Wu-Tang Clan and more than a dozen other rappers released albums that helped to change the sound of America. Among them was a record by De La Soul that challenged the music industry — an industry then obsessed with taking hip-hop to the mainstream. The album is now considered a classic. 

When the three members of De La Soul began work on Buhloone Mindstate, they had pretty much had it with the music industry, says David Jolicoeur aka Trugoy, one of the group's two MCs. "We had been through the 'machine,' " he says. "I think we were truly burnt out."

Trugoy, along with group mates Posdnuos and P.A. Mase, scored a major success with De La's 1989 debut, Three Feet High and Rising. The trio immediately established itself as one of hip-hop's most eclectic and creative groups, especially in their storytelling, says journalist and filmmaker Raquel Cepeda. "They upped the ante for other people to tell wonderful stories through their music," she says. "For example, Wu-Tang Clan — who you wouldn't necessarily put in the same category, if you will, with De La Soul, but at the same time, they kind of set it up."

VIA trueskool

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