" It seemed, for a moment, that everything was settled, and De La was finally going to receive the flowers for an incredible career. And then, on February 12th, tragedy struck. " -- Viv Mansbach, 9th grade
How many feathers are on a Perdue chicken?
How many fibers are intertwined in a Shredded Wheat biscuit?
What does 'Tuhs eht lleh pu' mean?
How many times did the Batmobile catch a flat?
The first time DJ Platurn heard that introduction, off of De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising he was “around 11 or 12,” he recalls. Although only a youth in Iceland, it would change the course of his life, and eventually lead him down a path that would eventually lead him to meet and work with the members of De La: Posdnous, Trugoy, and Maseo. The reason Da La appealed to him is why it appealed to many; their funky and eclectic sampling style and storytelling, as well their place outside of the ‘tough’ hiphop stereotype prevalent at the time.
De La’s place in the mainstream conversation became louder and louder with the now - infamous 1991 lawsuit by the sixties group The Turtles. The lawsuit sued the then - high school students for 2.5 million dollars for featuring a 12 - second sample of The Turtles’ 1969 song You Showed Me on the track Broadcasting Live From Mars. It was the assertion of the Turtles member Mark Volman that ‘sampling is just a longer term for theft’, a rude and far from real accusation which was nothing new to rappers.
Even though sampling in hip hop is a valid and important form of artistic expression which bridges genres and adds to the listening experience, getting permission to sampling was a difficult and often overlooked process. Rappers had been sampling since the dawn of hip hop, and were often criticized by the likes of James Brown, who criticized the artistic integrity of the genre. Often times, musicians of other genres were in fact boosted by the samples; as Stetsasonic puts in in Talkin’ All that Jazz, ‘To tell the truth, James Brown was old, til Eric B. and Ra came out with I Got Soul’ (referring to Eric B. and Rakim’s song which samples Brown).
The sampling controversy is a double - edged sword; on the one hand, there were the critics and musicians who didn’t see hip hop as a valid form of art, which was damaging to the reputation of the art but not the artists, as most people who listened to rap weren’t all too concerned with what this classical musician or that music reviewer had to say about the integrity of the art form. The context of the lawsuit within the bigger picture meant that the industry was suddenly on its toes; an already touchy subject was now on blast.
When the sampling complaints after the lawsuit began to pour in, De La’s label, the notorious Tommy Boy, began to go about the process of ‘clearing’ all of the samples on Three Feet High and Rising. This was a weird decision, given not only that the album contains over 60 samples, but also, the label was going against the group’s conviction to fully legalize sampling. Instead of spurring the movement, Tommy Boy was trying to cover a stab wound with a bandaid. This began a 34 year - long legal push and pull, with unsatisfying results for the Staten Island group time and time again. Disputes with Tommy Boy continued, and for the past 34 years, De La’s first six albums have been unavailable on streaming platforms. They attempted to keep fans up to date with a series of cryptic instagram posts, and in 2019, the hashtag #tommyboycott was circulated by the likes of Nas and Questlove.
Of course, when music isn’t available for streaming, it goes underground; and DJ Platurn was more than familiar with underground music distribution. He began making mixtapes as a teenager, the most popular of which were dedicated to the group. The De La mixtapes began as an homage to the group that inspired him, the group he revered. Platurn never imagined that they would become a huge new way to experience the group. He went on to not only become friends with the members of De La, but work with their frequent collaborator, the legendary producer Prince Paul of Stetsasonic fame.
De La Soul’s effective erasure finally looked like it was on the way to ending when Tommy Boy was acquired by the rights company Reservoir Media, who began to reverse the process by signing deals with the sampled artists who’d filed complaints. In January of this year, the group released a statement via Instagram announcing that all six albums would be available to stream in March. This would be a huge victory for the hip hop world, and when Platurn received the news, he got together with Prince Paul to organize a commemorative night of music, celebrating De La’s integral place in rap history.
It seemed, for a moment, that everything was settled, and De La was finally going to receive the flowers for an incredible career. And then, on February 12th, tragedy struck. De La’s Trugoy, also known as Dave Jolicoeur, had passed away due to congestive heart failure, which he’d struggled with for several years. His death was not only premature (He was 54), but happened a mere month from his life’s work’s availability to the public.
When DJ Platurn called Prince Paul several weeks later, he was braced for the cancellation of the event. “I said, ‘Hey man. I wanted to give you time to grieve and I completely get it if you want to cancel this right now.’ He was like, ‘Nah.’” He went on to say that the event now held more weight than ever before; a celebration of the group’s career had turned into a celebration of life and public funerary service for this simultaneous loss and gain. He was back where he’d begun; behind a turntable, facing a crowd, nodding along to the same beats he’d heard long ago, the lyrics that entranced him and the world.
How many fibers are intertwined in a Shredded Wheat biscuit?
What does 'Tuhs eht lleh pu' mean?
How many times did the Batmobile catch a flat?
The first time DJ Platurn heard that introduction, off of De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising he was “around 11 or 12,” he recalls. Although only a youth in Iceland, it would change the course of his life, and eventually lead him down a path that would eventually lead him to meet and work with the members of De La: Posdnous, Trugoy, and Maseo. The reason Da La appealed to him is why it appealed to many; their funky and eclectic sampling style and storytelling, as well their place outside of the ‘tough’ hiphop stereotype prevalent at the time.
De La’s place in the mainstream conversation became louder and louder with the now - infamous 1991 lawsuit by the sixties group The Turtles. The lawsuit sued the then - high school students for 2.5 million dollars for featuring a 12 - second sample of The Turtles’ 1969 song You Showed Me on the track Broadcasting Live From Mars. It was the assertion of the Turtles member Mark Volman that ‘sampling is just a longer term for theft’, a rude and far from real accusation which was nothing new to rappers.
Even though sampling in hip hop is a valid and important form of artistic expression which bridges genres and adds to the listening experience, getting permission to sampling was a difficult and often overlooked process. Rappers had been sampling since the dawn of hip hop, and were often criticized by the likes of James Brown, who criticized the artistic integrity of the genre. Often times, musicians of other genres were in fact boosted by the samples; as Stetsasonic puts in in Talkin’ All that Jazz, ‘To tell the truth, James Brown was old, til Eric B. and Ra came out with I Got Soul’ (referring to Eric B. and Rakim’s song which samples Brown).
The sampling controversy is a double - edged sword; on the one hand, there were the critics and musicians who didn’t see hip hop as a valid form of art, which was damaging to the reputation of the art but not the artists, as most people who listened to rap weren’t all too concerned with what this classical musician or that music reviewer had to say about the integrity of the art form. The context of the lawsuit within the bigger picture meant that the industry was suddenly on its toes; an already touchy subject was now on blast.
When the sampling complaints after the lawsuit began to pour in, De La’s label, the notorious Tommy Boy, began to go about the process of ‘clearing’ all of the samples on Three Feet High and Rising. This was a weird decision, given not only that the album contains over 60 samples, but also, the label was going against the group’s conviction to fully legalize sampling. Instead of spurring the movement, Tommy Boy was trying to cover a stab wound with a bandaid. This began a 34 year - long legal push and pull, with unsatisfying results for the Staten Island group time and time again. Disputes with Tommy Boy continued, and for the past 34 years, De La’s first six albums have been unavailable on streaming platforms. They attempted to keep fans up to date with a series of cryptic instagram posts, and in 2019, the hashtag #tommyboycott was circulated by the likes of Nas and Questlove.
Of course, when music isn’t available for streaming, it goes underground; and DJ Platurn was more than familiar with underground music distribution. He began making mixtapes as a teenager, the most popular of which were dedicated to the group. The De La mixtapes began as an homage to the group that inspired him, the group he revered. Platurn never imagined that they would become a huge new way to experience the group. He went on to not only become friends with the members of De La, but work with their frequent collaborator, the legendary producer Prince Paul of Stetsasonic fame.
De La Soul’s effective erasure finally looked like it was on the way to ending when Tommy Boy was acquired by the rights company Reservoir Media, who began to reverse the process by signing deals with the sampled artists who’d filed complaints. In January of this year, the group released a statement via Instagram announcing that all six albums would be available to stream in March. This would be a huge victory for the hip hop world, and when Platurn received the news, he got together with Prince Paul to organize a commemorative night of music, celebrating De La’s integral place in rap history.
It seemed, for a moment, that everything was settled, and De La was finally going to receive the flowers for an incredible career. And then, on February 12th, tragedy struck. De La’s Trugoy, also known as Dave Jolicoeur, had passed away due to congestive heart failure, which he’d struggled with for several years. His death was not only premature (He was 54), but happened a mere month from his life’s work’s availability to the public.
When DJ Platurn called Prince Paul several weeks later, he was braced for the cancellation of the event. “I said, ‘Hey man. I wanted to give you time to grieve and I completely get it if you want to cancel this right now.’ He was like, ‘Nah.’” He went on to say that the event now held more weight than ever before; a celebration of the group’s career had turned into a celebration of life and public funerary service for this simultaneous loss and gain. He was back where he’d begun; behind a turntable, facing a crowd, nodding along to the same beats he’d heard long ago, the lyrics that entranced him and the world.
