De La Soul

De La Soul is an innovative hip-hop group from New York who are best known for introducing positivity into the genre, when it was dominated by intensity and machismo. Since their famous debut, they have released a handful of excellent records, establishing them as one of hip-hop's best ever groups.

That debut, 1989's 3 Feet High And Rising is considered a classic and one of the greatest debuts in hip-hop history. Using jazz, funk and disco samples to create an upbeat party vibe, it ushered in a new cheerfulness to hip-hop that served as a contrast to the political antagonism of Public Enemy and the gangsta posturing of N.W.A.. But they were labelled as "hippies" by some, due to their positivity and flowery artwork. On follow-up album De La Soul is Dead, they took an edgier approach, while retaining their humour and persisting in criticising gangsta attitudes. It wasn't received well at the time, but is now regarded as a classic of the genre. Third album Buhloone Mindstate cemented their reputation and saw increased maturity, and is considered by some diehard fans to be their best album.

Stakes Is High was their first album without founding producer Prince Paul, and it received mixed reviews. The group then took a short break before returning with a duo of albums pre-titled "Art Official Intelligence" (AOI for short). AOI: Mosaic Thump was a disappointing 2000 comeback, as it seemed that the positive vibes that had made their debut so great had now completely disappeared. But AOI: Bionix the following year saw a return to form with arguably their best album since ...Is Dead. In 2004 De La Soul released their seventh studio album, The Grind Date, without the anticipated AOI prefix. It received warm reviews, with most fans considering it almost as good as AOI: Bionix.