Frank151 Chapter 37: De La Soul

Frank Book Chapter 37 will celebrate the 20th anniversary of De La Soul, a group that
has demonstrated boundless creativity and staying-power throughout their career. De
La has maintained an earnest individualism since their debut two decades ago, blazing a trail so many emcees now eagerly follow.

Rap De Rap Show: In this article, Dante Ross discusses his relationship with De La. "I will never forget the first show De La Soul ever did, however blurry the exacting facts surrounding the event are. I recently caught up with my brethrens—the De La Souls themselves—verified some of the hazy parts, and got my info fine-tuned. Here’s the 411. De La was the first group I was ever given the A&R responsibility for...whatever that means. Back then, it meant being the groups cheer leader / road manager / dude in the office they hung with. It mostly meant we made it up as we went along."

Tasty Samples: "Everyone has their passions in life. For Maseo, it’s clearly music, and more specifically DJing and producing. For Jarobi White, original member of A Tribe Called Quest, it’s cooking. Frank151 got them together to ask a few questions about their respective passions, and to learn about their inspirations and influences. Speaking with these two old friends, it’s immediately apparent that they go way back and have a deep mutual respect. But most of all, they just crack each other up."

Joe Buck: "Joe Buck was at the bus station in Jamaica, Queens when Run D.M.C. came out with a boombox, performed 'It’s Like That' for ten people, and left. It was ’83, the right place right time for hip-hop. Graffiti was blowing up all over the City, and Joe loved it, but he wasn’t going out to bomb train yards because he didn’t want to get paint on his gear. Nothing too fancy then: shell toes, Wallabees, sheepskins. He graduated from high school and his dad said it was time to trade all that in for a suit and tie. 'I don’t want to wear suits,' Joe said, 'I want to do something else.' "