By the end of the 80s, hip-hop had transformed from its roots through to a radical political stance and onto an almost post-modern review with De La Soul‘s debut masterpiece. If Public Enemy were the hardcore equivalent to rebellious rock’n’roll, then De La Soul were the psychedelic hippie forbearers.
‘3 Feet High And Rising’ is the Sgt.Pepper of hip-hop albums, full of the most ingenious use of both sampling and wordplay; mixing seminal tunes like ‘Magic Number’, ‘Say No Go’ and ‘Me, Myself and I’ up with omnivorous vignettes.
Hall & Oates, The Rascals, Steely Dan and The Average White Band were all ploughed into the melting pot, to create an almost entirely new sound, which ushered in the new age positive ‘Native Tongues’ collective of The Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah and The Black Sheep.
