For immediate release
FUTURE ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS…
DE LA SOUL the old skool trail blazers of peace, love and hip hop return to Australia for a headline
tour, destined to bring the roots of hip hop soul back to their legion of Australian fans.
After the band’s formation in the late 80’s and subsequent rise to fame, De La Soul quickly
established themselves as leaders of a contigent of New York-based ‘alternative’ rappers called the
Native Tongues Posse; this included A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, The Jungle Brothers
and Monie Love. This movement in hip hop’s evolution spawned a progression towards peace and
positivity that echoes in productions from so many new hip hop innovators a la Jurassic 5 and The
Roots. For some time, it looked as if De La Soul and the Native Tongues Posse would eclipse
hardcore hip-hop in terms of popularity. Their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising topped many
best-of-the-year lists and etched itself into the psyche of global hip hop culture. Fast forward 16
years and De La’s collaboration with the Gorillaz on ‘Feel Good Inc’, which reached no. 4 on the
ARIA singles chart and went gold in Australia, saw them once again re-emmerge in the evolution of
cutting edge sounds, whilst maintaining the presence and truth that has defined their sound across
two decades.
De La Soul’s truly enduring identity in sound, style and substance has seen them become a living
part of hip hop culture’s history and ideology.
Check out a piece of hip hop history as De La rock Australia, with the 2007 live show focussing on
the classic old skool joints that act as defining moments in the band’s sound.
TICKETS ON SALE SOON
Check websites for details
NATIONAL DATES
29.12.07 Sydney Luna Park www.bigtopsydney.com
31.12.08 New Years Eve Special event (TBA)
01.01.08 Adelaide The Shores Complex www.myspace.com/shores_ona_new_years_day
01.01.08 Melbourne The Hot Barbeque www.futureentertainment.com.au
05.01.08 Gold Coast Summafielddayze www.futureentertainment.com.au
06.01.08 Perth Summadayze Festival www.futureentertainment.com.au
08.01.08 Sydney Hyde Park Barracks www.sydneyfestival.org.au
All media enquiries contact:
Jade Harley PH: 02 9356 1777 jade@futureentertainment.com.au
Artist information:
De La Soul's debut album (1989) , 3 Feet High and Rising, was hailed as the future of hip-hop. With
its colourful collage of samples and styles, plus the Long Island trio's low-key, clever rhymes and
goofy humor, the album sounded like nothing else in hip-hop.
De La Soul formed while the trio -- Posdnuos (born Kelvin Mercer, August 17, 1969), Trugoy the
Dove (born David Jude Jolicoeur, September 21, 1968), and Pasemaster Mase (born Vincent
Mason, March 27, 1970) -- were attending high school in the late '80s.
De La Soul quickly were perceived as the leaders of a contingent of New York-based alternative
rappers which also included A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, the Jungle Brothers, and Monie
Love; all of these artists dubbed themselves the Native Tongues posse.
For a while, it looked as if De La Soul and the Native Tongues posse would eclipse hardcore hiphop
in terms of popularity. "Me, Myself and I" became a Top 40 pop hit in the U.S. (number one
R&B), while the album reached number 24 (number one R&B) and went gold. At the end of the
year, 3 Feet High and Rising topped many best-of-the-year lists, including The Village Voice's. With
all of the acclaim came some unwanted attention, most notably in the form of a lawsuit by the
Turtles. De La Soul had sampled the Turtles' "You Showed Me" and layered it with a French lesson
on a track on 3 Feet High called "Transmitting Live From Mars," without getting the permission of
the '60s pop group. The Turtles won the case, and the decision not only had substantial impact on
De La Soul, but on rap in general. Following the suit, all samples had to be legally cleared before
an album could be released. Not only did this have the end result of rap reverting back to
instrumentation, thereby altering how the artists worked, it also meant that several albums in the
pipeline had to be delayed in order for samples to clear. One of those was De La Soul's second
album, De La Soul Is Dead.
When De La Soul Is Dead was finally released in the spring of 1991, the album peaked at number
26 pop on the U.S. charts, number 24 R&B, and spawned only one minor hit, the number 22 R&B
single "Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)." De La Soul worked hard on their third album, finally releasing
the record in late 1993. The result, entitled Buhloone Mindstate, was harder and funkier than either
of its predecessors, yet it didn't succumb to gangsta rap.
Four years later, De La Soul initiated what promised to be a three-album series with the release of
Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump; though reviews were mixed, it was greeted warmly by
record buyers, debuting in the Top Ten. The second title in the series, AOI: Bionix, even featured a
video hit with "Baby Phat," but Tommy Boy and the trio decided to end their relationship soon after.
De La Soul subsequently signed their AOI label to Sanctuary Urban (run by Beyoncé's father,
Mathew Knowles) and released The Grind Date in October 2004.