[ Chrysalis Records / 2 LP ]
Release Date: Friday 31 March 2023
3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by American hip hop trio De La Soul. It was released on March 3, 1989, by Tommy Boy. It marked the first of three full-length collaborations with producer Prince Paul, which would become the critical and commercial peak of both parties. Critically, as well as commercially, the album was a success. It contains the singles, Me Myself and I, The Magic Number, Buddy, and Eye Know. The album title came from the Johnny Cash song Five Feet High and Rising.
It is listed on Rolling Stone's 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums (both of which are unordered). When Village Voice held its annual Jazz & Pop Critics Poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked at #1, outdistancing its nearest opponent (Neil Young's Freedom) by 21 votes and 260 points. It was also listed on the Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Released amid the 1989 boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, De La Soul's uniquely positive style made them an oddity beginning with the first single, Me, Myself and I. Their positivity meant many observers labelled them a "hippie" group, based on their declaration of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" (da inner sound, y'all). Sampling artists as diverse as Hall & Oates, Steely Dan and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap).
Intro
The Magic Number
Change in Speak
Cool Breeze on the Rocks
Can U Keep a Secret
Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)
Ghetto Thang
Transmitting Live from Mars
Eye Know
Take It Off
A Little Bit of Soap
Tread Water
Potholes in My Lawn
Say No Go
Do as De La Does
Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend)
De La Orgee
Buddy (featuring Jungle Brothers and Q-Tip)
Description
Me Myself and I
This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.)
I Can Do Anything (Delacratic)
D.A.I.S.Y. Age