"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." - Robert Frost

One can only speculate on what path hip-hop might have taken if "Three Feet High And Rising" had captured the collective imagination of our nation at the turn of the decade rather than the emerging hardcore acts. Not to insinuate that early to mid 90s hardcore gangsta rap wasn't essential in producing some of the most profound artists and messages of our time, but rather that "Three Feet High and Rising" has taken a far longer time to reveal its inner charm and magic to hip-hop fans. Like the famous Robert Frost poem suggests, De La Soul took the path less travelled and it has made all the difference. Unlike many of their defunct peers, De La Soul is still going strong today putting forth solid albums. Furthermore, their influence is all over today's widely heralded "positive/conscious" hip-hop and their ilk - Jurassic Five, Blackalicious, The Roots, Common, and Mos Def. But, it all started here - like a blossoming flower first opening its petals to the rising sun and stretching its roots.

"Three Feet High And Rising" was so far ahead of it's time conceptually and musically, that many today are just discovering the beating heart beneath all the layers of inside jokes and youthful absurdity. However, you can't say "Three Feet High And Rising" in a review without the mention of Prince Paul. Prince Paul mastered the production on the album - carving out a strange niche in hip-hop where blues artist Syl Johnson jump-roped with country singer Johnny Cash and Otis Redding rocked the dance floors with Steely Dan on rollerskates. Many reviewers will claim that it is this multi-genre mix of samples that makes "Three Feet High And Rising" such a great hip-hop album - but this statement is only partly correct. At the time of its release in 1989, its leftfield samples provided a revolutionary constrast to the James Brown breaks being beaten into the ground at the time. But what makes "Three Feet And Rising" endure to this day, isn't so much the diverse variety of samples, but more the way in which the samples were juxtaposed and weaved together in a disjointed haphazard manner. If you can picture taking random jigsaw puzzle pieces and finding ways to fit them together and forming a new image, then you can get a sense of the fractured genius of Prince Paul's production.

For better or for worse, "Three Feet High And Rising" also officially introduced the idea of skits into the hip-hop world. De La Soul and Prince Paul laced recurring skits throughout the album basing it on a game show theme. The skits lend the album a idiosyncratic humor - which surprisingly works more towards tying the album together cohesively rather than breaking it up. However, all these groundbreaking aspects aside - the real soul of the album remains focused on Trugoy, Posdunos and Pasemaster Mase. Boasting a "change in speak", Posdunos and Trugoy brought about a more sing-song mellow delivery. Their voices are pleasant and laid-back and flow in a conversational fashion. Many have also called "Three Feet High And Rising" the Sgt. Peppers of hip-hop - a convienent reference point for rock fans. There's truth in this statement as well - both albums melded distinct influences into a psychaedelic freewheeling solidarity. But more important, like the Beatles, there was a certain chemistry and synergy between Pos, Trugoy, and Mase as if they were meant to find each other.

The first song echoes this indispensible chemistry and synergy between the three group members. Titled, The Magic Number, the song is a declaration of purpose and direction - all the while promoting the strength of sticking to themselves as well as depending on the next person. Trugoy declares, "Speakers of soul say it's time to shout/Three forms the soul to a positive sum/Dance to this fix and flex every muscle." Prince Paul adopts the melody from a Schoolhouse Rock song entitled, "Three Is The Magic Number", but throws in dashes of Johnny Cash voice and scratched-in comedy one-liners. Cool Breeze On The Rocks is a short interlude where Prince Paul plays samples off each other. It sounds like Chuck D., The Beastie Boys, L.L. Cool J, Michael Jackson, and Run DMC are all trying to fight for the spotlight to rock the crowd.

Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge) scatters playful go-go vocals throughout the song while a bridge in the middle cuts into a simple Chopsticks sample and then swings back out again into the beat. It's almost like hip-hop with A.D.D. - shifting between samples without any predictable reason. Posdunos' cadence is almost melodic - his relaxed tone spins a heart-touching but cautionary lesson against immature puppy love. It has been debated that in the song - "jimmy" represents the male sex organ while "jenifa" represents the female's. Underneath that light, the song isn't as innocent as it might seem and in fact carries a dark undertone. "Breakfast - broke it fast, she was in my English class/ Asked for notes, rocked my boat, Jenifa...oh! /Jenny lost her favourite penny, so I gave her a dollar / She kissed me and I hollered! " Posdunos reminsces in an early verse.

Ghetto Thang features a fuzzy muted bass and shaking maracas while Pos and Dove spin revelatory commentary on the situation within ghettos. While they acknowledge the self-destructive mindstate of the ghetto, De La Soul also indict those who choose to use their situation as a scapegoat for all their troubles. Prince Paul yanks a single three-second whine from the 70s jazz-pop Blackbyrds' "Rock Creek Park".

Eye Know intersects a Otis Redding whistle loop and a Steely Dan chorus - floating by on a euphoric vibe. The song is innocent letter to a crush - and Prince Paul captures the light-hearted mood perfectly. De La Soul's lyrics were unpretentious and ego-free which was another slant that made "Three Feet High And Rising" startlingly unique and refreshing. Trugoy admits, "Sex is a mere molecule / In this world of love that I have for you / It's true!" before the song dives back into the elated Steely Dan hook. Take It Off and A Little Bit Of Soap both criticize the mainstream rap world's concern with attitude and looks with the latter humorously telling the commonplace gold-rope b-boy to take a bath.

Metaphorical meanings aside, Tread Water is an outlandish fable that reads like a Posdunos and Dove in Wonderland tale. Pos and Trugoy tell a story of meeting various animal characters but the overall theme that holds it together is a message of optimism. It was characteristics like these that distinguished De La Soul from the rest of their hip-hop brethen - the way they were lost in their own little bright Technicolor De La Heaven marching to the sounds of their own drummer. Hip-hop to De La Soul functioned as a true form of artistic expression that could be singular and extraordinary. But since their subject matter did not reflect the streets, De La Soul unfortunately got pigeonholed as peace-loving hippies. De La Soul's lyrics at times - seem deceptively simple almost like a nursery rhyme but enough listens and the album slowly begins to unraveling and opening to the more complex political and social issues underneath.

Potholes In My Lawn is an example of this. While the lyrics of the song seem at first to be about people digging and stealing pieces of De La Soul's garden - it later reveals that the song is about theft of their lyrics. "I've found that it's not wise / To leave my garden uattended / 'Cause eyes have now pardoned all laws of privacy / Even paws are after my writer," explains Pos. On the song, Prince Paul employs a yodeling sample as a makeshift hook - it works brilliantly becoming infectious the more it burrows into your consciousness. But if yodeling mountain boys can coexisit with Parliament, then why not sneak Hall & Oates and The Detroit Emeralds in for Say No Go - which Prince Paul pulls off with mastery - borrowing Hall & Oates' vocals for the title. The song relates a strong anti-drug message - an important issue to De La Soul that Posdunos would explore more on their subsequent album. Posdunos ponders on the addictiveness of drugs "Believe it or not the plot forms a fee more that charity / But the course doesn't coincide with the ride of insanity / Is it a chant that slants the soul to fill for it? / I know it's the border that flaunts the order to kill for it."

There are of course songs like Do As De La Does, Can U Keep A Secret?, and De La Orgee which are complete sonic nonsense yet they possess a keen sense of innocent humor which keeps it from going into overkill. On Buddy, De La Soul invites the Jungle Brothers and Q-Tip to talk about how much they love women more or less but its the trade-offs, drum beats, bass and piano touches that make the song a classic. Me Myself and I was the hit single from the album and perhaps one of the album's finest moments. Once the song blasts off - it's clear why this particular song climbed the charts. Prince Paul gives the song a dose of a disco swing while Pos and Trugoy tell their detractors to let them be themselves. Trugoy explains, "Style is surely our own thing / Not the false disguise of show-biz / De La Soul is from the soul. "

And ultimately, "Three Feet High And Rising" remains a classic to this day because of more than its dazzling array of samples, more than their positive message, more than their catchy hooks and delivery - but because the album is from the soul. "Three Feet High And Rising" is a personality all on its own - pulsing with energy and life. The album is unique like a fingerprint - a hundred lab scientists could not reproduce this album down to its tiny details. Now that the album has been remastered and rereleased with a bonus disc of remixes and rave reviews ("The greatest achievement so far in pop music art!" Interview Magazine claims), hopefully a younger generation of hip-hop fans will travel the less traveled road and discover DA Inner Sound Y'all.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends