(Warner/Tommy Boy)

Back in 1989 rap was all about guns and bitches, CREAM and crack and the hip hop heads had not much more than street thugs and petty gangsters as role models until De La Soul came along. Emerging from Long Island, New York, these three revolutionary rappers created their own take on hip-hop and in the process changed the way that making rap records would be done. Never before had rhymes of daisies, peace and love been exposed to the ears of mainstream rap crowds until De La had a hit with their first single “Me Myself and I” from their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising. At this point De La were different from anything that the rap scene had ever witnessed, clean cut respectable men talking about how good everything was, and not surprisingly their quirky rhymes and innovatively sample beats were embraced by the masses. And that is where it all started, 4 albums later and uncountable hit singles and De La is still going strong. De La Soul is Posdnous, Trugoy the Dove and Pasemaster Mace.

Timeless is a collection of all the best bits De La Soul has delivered to their fans over the last 14 years. As a part of the Native Tongues family (De La Soul, Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers and more) you can expect to hear more than just the influences of De La on this release. The groups artistic range is also accentuated later in this album when De La started to collaborate with RnB, Soul and other rap artists to create unique sounds that cover more genre ground that just hip hop alone. All tracks on this release are from De La’s albums which are as follows; 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul is Dead, Buhloone Mind State and Art Official Intelligence.

This ‘best of’ album is a timeline of everything great that De La has ever done. Opening with “Eye Know” the album starts on a fantastic note, followed by “Say No Go” and “Me Myself and I” it’s clear that the daisy age was a great theme for De La to focus on for their first album. Their next album De La Soul is Dead was a protest on De La’s part due to the fact that after 3 feet High most fans were under the impression that the group were hippies rather than serious hip hop artists. The theme of De La Soul is Dead is a little more controversial as they focus on the flailing record industry with their parody of the humble demo tape in “Ring Ring Ring”. Even though the group was focussing on a more serious album they still came away with the acclaimed “Roller Skating Jam named ‘Saturdays’” which wooed fans of hip hop and dance floors alike with it’s funky breakbeat and catchy disco vocals by Vinia Mojica.

With fans and critics alike wondering if De La would return to the daisy age and love themes associated with 3 Feet on their 3rd album the took a completely different approach and focussed on lyrical development. Fans sometimes overlooked Bahloone Mind State as it didn’t have as much influence on the state of hip-hop as what their previous works had. With only one single from this album, Breakadawn, making any waves throughout the industry. In 2000 De La emerged from their hiatus with Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump. This album was the most diverse that De La had produced yet. Taking ideas from Bahloon Mind State they elaborated by collaborating with many different hip hop and RnB artists such as Chaka Khan and Devin the Dude to create a sub genre that has become one of the most popular of today, urban music. Tracks like “Held Down” and “Baby Phat” still carry elements of the urban sound that is produced in 2003.

De La Soul has had an amazing influence on all things hip hop both as rap artists and through their innovative lyrics and sampled beats. They have shaped a generation of fans through their lighthearted themes and controversial statements showing that hip-hop is more than just guns and gangsters but can still carry some political pull. This is a must buy for any De La fan and for anyone who wants to know more about this groundbreaking influential group.