De La Soul Artistfacts

1987-
Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos)1987-
David Jude Jolicoeur (Trugoy the Dove)1987-2023
Vincent Mason (PA Pasemaster Mase)1987
David Jude Jolicoeur's alias, Trugoy, is "yogurt" (his favorite food) spelled backward.

Vincent Mason's M.A.S.E. alias stands for "Making a Sound Effort."

Kelvin Mercer's moniker, Posdnuos, spelled backwards is "sound sop."
De La Soul is to "alternative rap" what Nirvana was to "alternative rock." Groups that followed in their style include A Trive Called Quest, The Pharcyde, P.M. Dawn and Digable Planets.
Their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, introduced the trio's concept of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" philosophy (D.A.I.S.Y. stands for "Da Inner Sound Ya'll"). "The Daisy Age we talk about," Posdnuos explained to NME, "is an inner consciousness."

"It's about 'Me Myself And I,"' added Trugoy, "being yourself, doing your own thing and not ever being afraid to do your own thing."
De La Soul's preference for peace signs and flowers, along with their penchant for large items of jewelry, led to their music being branded as "hippy-hop." (3 Feet High and Rising has a distinct '60s flavoring.)

Trugoy objected to this description. "If some think that we have a hippy style and a hippy sound, that's just fine," he told Melody Maker. "But we'd be offended if it was said that we wanted to be hippies. We don't. We just want to be ourselves. Our music is raw and it's funky but, at the same time, it's deeply soulful because this is the DAISY Age and this is the sound from within. Rap doesn't have to come off with hard basslines and heavy kicks and snares. People sometimes want to listen to soft music - even the hardcore crowd."
When they released 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989, sampling laws weren't clear and the now-requisite task of obtaining permission for using famous songs was almost nonexistent. De La Soul's "Transmitting Live from Mars" sample of The Turtles' "You Showed Me" made history when it led to a copyright-infringement lawsuit and a large payment. It was the last time a major label allowed samples to go uncleared.
The trio's second album, the much harder De La Soul Is Dead, signaled the end of the D.A.I.S.Y. Age with its cover of a broken flowerpot of daisies. The album's title was a reaction to the group being labeled hippies.
You can blame De La Soul for the '90s trend of putting skits between songs on hip-hop albums. They popularized it on 3 Feet High and Rising.
They've had a handful of Grammy nominations, but their only win came in 2006 when they won the Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals Grammy for their collaboration with Gorillaz on the single "Feel Good Inc."
The actor Michael Rapaport (Boston Public, Prison Break, Friends), a huge fan of classic hip-hop, named his son Maceo Shane after P.A. Pacemaster Mase.
Their first six albums didn't show up on streaming services until 2023 because of clearance issues with their samples and a battle with their label, Tommy Boy Records. The breakthrough came in 2021 when Reservoir Media acquired Tommy Boy and worked to get the issue resolved.

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