DE LA SOUL / “Trying People”
If I wasn't making songs
I wouldn't be a thug selling drugs
But a man with a plan
And if I was a rug cleaner
Betcha Pos'd have the cleanest rugs. I am.
—De La Soul’s Pos from “I Am I Be”
In some circles, it’s virtual sacrilege to say this, but I’m not a fan of De La Soul’s 3 Feet High And Rising. I’m not being revisionist about it either – I didn’t like it back in ’89. It was too cute. Too playful. Too relentlessly silly. Of course, context is everything. As the Eighties drew to a close, Public Enemy and NWA were battling it out for the title of most popular rap group. At first glance, Public Enemy’s pro-Black, pro-revolutionary polemics would seem to have little in common with N.W.A.’s FBI-baiting sex-and-violence. But let’s say you weren’t well-versed in English and couldn’t understand the subtleties of their grievances. All of a sudden, the two groups would seem a lot more similar. They both were hard, abrasive and declamatory, not to mention almost always pissed off about something. Neither band liked police or other authority figures. Both authored fantasies about breaking in or out of prison. So on and so on.
And when I'm watchin the news
And my daughter walks in
And chooses to ask,
"Why were all those people on the floor
“Sleeping, covered in red?"
I told her that they were looking for God
But found religion instead
—De La Soul’s Pos from “Held Down”
The point is, De La Soul’s loopy, farcical debut album was intended as a counterpoint to the heaviness of the times. As such, 3 Feet High was an immediate and considerable success. Unusually for an independent release, it was certified platinum and surprisingly enough won admiration from none other than (Public Enemy frontman) Chuck D himself who called De La Soul his favorite rap group in the world. As for me, I appreciated the intent, but didn’t like the execution.
[I] got fans around the world
But my girl's not one of them
And my relationship's a big question
Cause my career's a clear
Hindrance to her progression
Said she needs a man
And our kids need a father
I'm not at all ready to
Hear her say ‘don't bother’ and break
And this I know I can't take
But uhh…
—De La Soul’s Pos from “Trying People”
Almost twenty years later, De La Soul is still around. (Ironically, so is Chuck D and Flava Flav of Public Enemy and Ice Cube and Dr. Dre of N.W.A. Of course, most of us wish Flav would just quit, but that’s another story for another time.) These days, De La Soul is anything but silly, cute or loopy. They’re grown-ass men and, appropriately, they rap about grown-ass themes: the highs and lows of fatherhood, the perils of modern romance, the economic realities of the music business, the dubious rewards of fame.
I called De La Soul’s current subject matter ‘appropriate,’ but maybe I should’ve called it extraordinary. Quiet as it’s kept, there are lots of rappers in their mid and late thirties (and even older). Of course, you’d never know it to listen to them. Most of these nearly middle-aged men spend their precious minutes in front of the studio mic trying mighty hard to sound like they’re still little boys, eighteen and stupid. Or even if they’re smarter than the average, smart enough to know the same old bullshit isn’t going to keep selling, they come up with new bullshit. Something like the hook of Jay-Z’s “30 Something” where he informs us that “thirty’s the new twenty.” Witty enough, except that Jay-Z is actually going to be 39 this year. I can’t wait for his Xmas 2008 release. I guess 40 will be the new 25.
Years just blow by
My eyes stay fixed
But the picture's kinda out of focus
I cry a lot but admit to it
Enjoying life now
But I've been through it
Sometimes I wish that I can go back
No bills, no kids
Just getting tore back
I want a wife, I love women
How could I front like
I don't be in love with ‘em?
A lil’ man that I can teach
A lil’ sand, but not the beach
—De La Soul’s Dave from “Trying People”You can make this just about rap if you want, but that’d be a gross oversimplification. This American culture of ours is relentlessly preoccupied with youth and the appearance of youth. Plastic surgery, designer clothes and diet pills are all big, big business. Everyone wants to be smooth-faced, stylishly dressed and fashionably skinny. In the music business, the obsession with youth boils down to economics. Kids buy records first and most. So when a thirty-something year-old rapper finds himself alone in the vocal booth, I guarantee you his thoughts are at least partially on the bottom line. He should have nothing on his mind but flowing, but if he isn’t actually thinking about his five-figure Amex bill and his equally pricey mortgage note, I’d be very surprised.
Since 3 Feet High And Rising, De La Soul has bucked the trend, endearing themselves to aging hip-hop fans like me by aging right along with us – not always gracefully, but always realistically. They rap about things I actually care about. About things that are on my thirty-five year-old mind. Their records make me feel good because they consistently tell it like it really is for an average black man in is mid-thirties in America. It’s not all about fast cars, fast women and getting high. More likely than not, it’s about a nine-to-five, three small children and one good woman. Thirty ain’t the new twenty. Thirty is thirty. Grow up, people.
If you got time to give
—De La Soul, from the chorus of DJ Honda’s “Trouble In The Water.”
I got time to think
See, it could all change
In one eye blink
While you’re in the trouble water
I hope you don't sink
—Mtume ya Salaam
— De La Soul - “I Am I Be” and “Breakadawn” from Buhloone Mind State (Tommy Boy, 1993)
— De La Soul - “Trying People” and “Held Down” from AOI: Bionix (Tommy Boy, 2003)
— De La Soul feat. Carl Thomas – “It’s Like That” from The Grind Date (Sanctuary, 2004)
— DJ Honda feat. De La Soul – “Trouble In The Water” from H II (Relativity, 1998)
I’ll be sixty this month!
And I’m laughing my ass off, Mtume, because you must be done jumped dead up in my head, talking about these youth-obsessed rappers, some of whom are granddads.
I don’t have to say nothing. Just sit in the corner and smile. You got it, Mtume. Carry on.
And though I’m not a follower of De La, I fully agree with your assessments. I agree 3 Feet is a bit too trippy for my taste and I also agree that their work has admirably matured. But I’m just still tripping on your write up. I could almost accuse you of plagarism, except, I know you mean what you say and you ain’t no copycat.
—Kalamu ya Salaam
P.S. I like the way they build on that Will Downing bassline sample on “Breakadawn.”
This entry was posted on Sunday, March 11th, 2007 at 2:59 am and is filed under Contemporary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
3 Responses to “DE LA SOUL / “Trying People””
March 11th, 2007 at 5:06 pm
My man David Winger sold me “3 feet high” for $7 in our high school hallway. All I can remember him saying was: “I can’t describe this shit! They have game shows on this muthaF…” The fact that De La’s debut disturbed this hip hop aficionado so much made me want his copy on the spot. I’ve been a fan ever since.
I agree with the “grown man” analysis. In fact, most of my “grown ass circles” have waxed poetic on this same “grown ass subject” from “Buhloone MindState” to “Mission Impossible”.
I’m writing this for “3 feet”. Not to dispute if it was too “cute”, “playful”, “silly”, or “trippy”, but to remind folk that none of those “adjectives” could be used to describe any hip hop album released before this late eight gem. Pos was admittedly “19 years young” during this time.
So the thought process that spewed “Breakadawn,” “I Am I Be,” and “Tryin’ People” were not dormant; just evolving.
PE’s “Nation” were the first to consistently give hip hop samples from activists, religious leaders, and multi layered breaks (Not to mention bomb ass song titles).
NWA’s “Compton” brought the comedic and confrontational skits/dialogue that were woven into most of their songs (a technique that would soon be used in most west coast cuts)
De La’s “3 Feet” was the first album to be completely metaphorical (i.e. Potholes In My Lawn was about rappers stealing their rhymes). And they sampled everything (From School House Rock commercials to George Clinton).
Soon, it would be okay to dig even more…
Conceptually
Creatively
Lyrically
it would be okay to be so damn trippy
so damn disturbing
so damn original
March 14th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
For what it is worth I as a white mid-thirties European enjoyed growing up with Dela Soul, too. They are the only artists of which I bought every album that came out, and loved it (with the partial exception of A.O.I.2-Bionix).
Mtume says:
I didn’t mean it like that, Paul. But still, point taken. 
March 15th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Dear Mtume,
Did not mean to comment your piece just add to the praise of Dela. Your point about fear of growing old (or at least 30) and the way DelaSoul deal with that as artists is a great example of how they while talkin bout their daily life transcend this reality to say something about the human condition.
By the way, Soulsides features a link to a promo from the 3-feet era: http://soul-sides.com/2007/03/back-to-day-glo.html
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