In 1991, De La Soul released their sophomore album, De La Soul Is Dead, to the world, and hip-hop was never the same again. Interestingly, though, the project started as an inside joke among Trugoy the Dove, Maseo, and Posdnuos, who were tired of what they saw as rampant hypocrisy in the music industry.
This story and more are recounted in High And Rising: A Book About De La Soul, written by author and De La superfan Marcus J. Moore. When the book was released in fall 2024, Moore sat down for an NPR conversation with journalist A. Martínez, who asked him about the group’s transition from their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, to De La Soul Is Dead.
“You know, it actually – that title began as an inside joke,” Moore explained. “The ‘dead’ meant they were dead tired. But it also became a rallying cry for, ‘OK, the daisy age is dead. We’re tired of the flowers. We’re tired of the Day-Glo colors. Quite frankly, we’re kind of tired of the nonsense that’s in the music industry.’”
Moore went on to add, “Ultimately, I just kind of admire them for taking that creative risk because it was definitely a risk to pretty much kill off the thing that made you successful in the first place.”
Offering some perspective, Martínez said, “There’s a push-pull of artistry versus consumerism, right? You want to bring your fans along with you, but what if you try something new and they don’t like it? Somehow, I think bands have to almost check out from wanting to make money and just be who they’re supposed to be or who they’re going to be, almost.”
“I totally agree with you,” Moore replied, then went on to paraphrase an old Quincy Jones quote. “He said… ‘once you start thinking about money, God leaves the room.’ And I totally agree with that.”
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