Biography
De La Soul are Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer), Trugoy the Dove (David Jude Jolicoeur), and Pasemaster Mase (Vincent Mason) formed at high school in the late '80s. An early demo tape, "Plug Tunin'," came to the attention of Prince Paul, the leader and producer of the New York rap outfit Stetsasonic. Prince Paul helped the trio land a contract with Tommy Boy Records and produced the debut album, '3 Feet High and Rising', released spring of 1989. Their humor and eclecticism presented an alternative to the hardcore rap that dominated hip-hop."Me, Myself and I" became a Top 40 pop hit in the U.S, while the album went gold. Second album 'De La Soul Is Dead' was finally released in the spring of 1991, and its darker, more introspective tone didn't attract as big an audience as its lighter predecessor. De La Soulreleased their third record in late 1993,' Buhloone Mindstate', was harder and funkier than either of its predecessors, but wasn't as successful, and it was the same story for the trio's fourth album, 'Stakes Is High'. Four years later, De La Soul started a three-album series with the release of 'Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump'; though reviews were mixed, it was greeted warmly by record buyers, debuting in the Top Ten. After the second title in the series, 'AOI: Bionix' the trio parted ways with Tommy Boy. De La Soul subsequently signed their AOI label to Sanctuary and released 'The Grind Date' in October 2004.

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