Hungry souls
By Alfred Lee
Nov. 30, 2005 9:00 p.m.
De La Soul is coming to Royce Hall. No, really.
At first, it seems a hip-hop act would hardly consider a concert
hall where world-renowned cellists and speakers have entertained
fans ushered to their seats by bow-tied employees an ideal venue.
But Friday night at 8, the veteran hip-hop group will most
certainly be performing, unfazed.
“Oh, we gonna get ’em standin’ up,” said
Dave (born David Jude Jolicoeur), who formed De La Soul with fellow
members Posdnuos and Maseo in 1987.
“Whatever the venue may be, that isn’t an issue.
People are gonna get the vibe and dance and want to be a part of
the show. We don’t really want to do a sit-down. When we get
on that stage it’s gonna be like any other theater or club or
hall.”
Considering they’re one of the last old-school hip-hop
groups standing, it’s no surprise they’ve seen similar
circumstances before.
“We were part of a Gorillaz show in Manchester at an opera
house. The rules were that the audience couldn’t get up and
dance and party. … People were viewing it as a presentation of
music. If that’s the case, it’s OK,” he said.
Not too many rap acts could pull off a show in such austere
environments. But ever since the release of their landmark debut
“3 Feet High and Rising,” De La Soul has remained one
of hip-hop’s most universally loved acts, drawing in fans
from just about every demographic.
Few artists in the last two decades, regardless of genre, have
been as critically hailed, and the group is nothing short of
revered in the hip-hop community for spearheading an alternative
hip-hop movement.
“There’s something universal about our music,”
Dave said.
“We talk about everyday, average things, whether
it’s crime, whether it’s washing dishes, or going to
college. Everyone can relate to it, regardless of venue or
setting.”
Over the years, the group has rapped about everything from soap
and potholes to more serious topics such as drug addiction and
child molestation, and sampled artists from Johnny Cash to Michael
Jackson.
The group’s ceaseless self-reinvention has contributed to
its longevity. Last year, De La Soul released its seventh album,
“The Grind Date.”
“It’s a challenge to adapt to the listening
audience, to the ear of the listening audience,” Dave said.
“Not to compromise and give in and do what 50 Cent is doing,
but to hold some integrity and do it in a clever way, to be a part
of the now of hip-hop as well.”
For “The Grind Date,” the group savvily enlisted the
efforts of some of hip-hop’s most promising underground
producers, such as 9th Wonder and Madlib, and the result was one of
the best rap albums of 2004.
“(The secret is in) being students of the game as people,
and not thinking we’re legends, and keeping your ear out on
the streets, listening to up-and-coming artists and applying your
thing,” he said.
“Not trippin’ and taking these accolades and awards
and stripes you’ve earned as who you are, but just constantly
learning and being open to new things.”
Despite any previous accomplishments, “The Grind
Date” ““ and the five tours, by Dave’s count,
they’ve been on since its release ““ is proof the group
is still hungry.
“What are we gonna do next, what do we attack next ““
that’s a great dilemma to me, if that’s a
dilemma,” he said.
“Our motivation is achieving something we’ve never
done before. There are so many topics, whether social, political or
personal, so many things to talk about, and that’s what
motivates or inspires a song, and from that point an
album.”
This passion has not only kept them going, but has allowed them
to keep their old fans and continually gain new ones.
“Part of why people love De La Soul is that people see
it’s three guys who really love what they do,” Dave
said.
“There are no head trips; we remain humble, and the love
comes first. And when that dies ““ and it’ll never die
““ we’ll be out of the game.”
