3 Feet High and Rising - De La Soul

De La Soul's landmark début album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was released in 1989 and remains one of the watershed albums in Hip Hop's rich musical history. Released at a time when gangster rap was taking hold of the Hip Hop scene, De LA Soul's positive upbeat album was something altogether new and fresh to the ears of the music buying public. It was an album that ushered in an age where producers began to use very different samples and on this album they are as diverse as Johnny Cash and The Turtles. The albums title is actually a play on the Johnny Cash song Five Feet High and Rising!

Producer Prince Paul shaped this album into something extra ordinary. Even though sampling was not something new, it is how it is used on the album that sets it apart from all that came before it. This is perhaps the most influential aspect of the album. The likes of DJ Shadow and Blackalicious would not exist if it were not for this album. (See below for a list of all the samples used on the album)

The lyrical content of 3 Feet High and Rising also set it apart. The positive tone and almost non exiting use of profanity really did allow it to stand out from what was being pioneered at the time by Public Enemy and N.W.A. The lyrical influence of Public Enemy shaped rap music for the next 15 years where as R and B seems to have embraced the sound and ideals of De La Soul more than most of the rap world.

So the big hits, well first up is The Magic Number. This has 2 amazing samples in it John Bohnam's drumbeat from Led Zeppelins The Grudge and Bob Dorough's tune Three Is a Magic Number. This has become one of those songs that everyone knows and loves. Other top songs from the album include: Me Myself and I, Buddy, Potholes in My Lawn, Jennifer Taught Me Ghetto Thang and of course Eye Know.

The trio of Kevin Mercer, Vincent Mason and Dave Jude Jolicoeur may have created what many at the time considered to be Hippy Rap especially because they themselves saw it as the D.A.I.S.Y Age (Da Inner Sound Ya'll) but what we have in 3 Feet high and Rising is a masterpiece that continues to shape the sound of music in positive ways, something which few can boast of or argue with.


Track Listing

1. "Intro" – 1:41
2. "The Magic Number" – 3:14
3. "Change in Speak" – 2:33
4. "Cool Breeze on the Rocks" – 0:46
5. "Can U Keep a Secret" – 1:38
6. "Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)" – 3:25
7. "Ghetto Thang" – 3:35
8. "Transmitting Live From Mars" – 1:06
9. "Eye Know" – 4:06
10. "Take It Off" – 1:53
11. "A Little Bit of Soap" – 0:47
12. "Tread Water" – 3:54
13. "Potholes in My Lawn" – 4:14
14. "Say No Go" – 4:20
15. "Do as De La Does" – 1:58
16. "Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend)" – 4:13
17. "De La Orgee" – 1:11
18. "Buddy" (with Jungle Brothers and Q-Tip) – 4:56
19. "Description" – 1:24
20. "Me Myself and I" – 3:41
21. "This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.)" – 3:16
22. "I Can Do Anything (Delacratic)" – 0:40
23. "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" – 3:58
24. "Plug Tunin'" (original 12" version) – 3:41

Here is the monstrous list of sample used on the album. Set your faces on stunned!

• "The Magic Number"
  • Bill Cosby dialogue
  • "The Crunge" by Led Zeppelin
  • "Hit By a Car" by Eddie Murphy
  • "Different Strokes" by Syl Johnson
  • "Five Feet High and Rising" by Johnny Cash
  • "Lesson 3 (History of Hip Hop Mix)" by Double Dee and Steinski
  • Schoolhouse Rock song "Three is the Magic Number" (Performed by Bob Dorough)
  • ABC by Jackson Five
  • "Got to have soul!" from Putney Swope

• "Change in Speak"
  • "Bra" by Cymande
  • James Brown song (unknown)
  • "Mary, Mary" by The Monkees
  • "No Strings Attached" by The Mad Lads

• "Cool Breeze on the Rocks"
  • "Hit It Run" by Run-D.M.C.
  • "Rockin' It" by Fearless Four
  • "Lyte as a Rock" by MC Lyte
  • "Rock the Bells" by LL Cool J
  • "Crap Game" by Richard Pryor
  • "Rock the House" by The B-Boys
  • "The New Style" by Beastie Boys
  • "Rock with You" by Michael Jackson
  • "Shake You Down" by Gregory Abbott
  • "Body Rock" by the Treacherous Three
  • "Solid as a Rock" by Ashford and Simpson
  • "Brooklyn Rocks the Best" by Cutmaster D.C.
  • "Bounce, Rock, Skate, Roll" by Mason, Vaughn & Crew
  • "Bang Zoom (Let's Go-Go)" by The Real Roxanne feat. Hitman Howie Tee
  • "High Powered Rap" by Disco Dave & the Force of the Five MC's (Crash Crew)
  • "Night of the Living Baseheads" & "Cold Lampin' With Flavor" by Public Enemy

• "Can U Keep a Secret?"
  • "Got to Get a Knutt" by New Birth

• "Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)"
  • "Think (About It)" by Lyn Collins
  • "Take the Money and Run" by Steve Miller Band

• "Ghetto Thang"
  • "Funky President" by James Brown
  • "Trans-Europe Express" by Kraftwerk
  • "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds

• "Transmitting Live from Mars"
  • "You Showed Me" by The Turtles
  • Old, unknown French-education recording

• "Eye Know"
  • "Peg" & "FM" by Steely Dan
  • "Remind Me" by Patrice Rushen
  • "Make This Young Lady Mine" by Mad Lads
  • "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding
  • "Sing a Simple Song" by Sly & The Family Stone

• "Take It Off"
  • "God Made Me Funky" by The Headhunters

• "Tread Water"
  • "I Likes to Do It" by People's Choice

• "A Little Bit of Soap"
  • "A Little Bit of Soap" by The Jarmels
  • "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King

• "Say No Go"
  • "That's the Joint" by Funky 4+1
  • "Crossword Puzzle" by Sly & the Family Stone
  • "You Got the Best of My Love" by The Emotions
  • "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" by Hall & Oates
  • "Baby Let Me Take You (In My Arms) by the Detroit Emeralds
  • "I'm Chief Kamanawanalea (We're the Royal Macadamia Nuts)" by The Turtles

• "De La Orgee"
  • "I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little Bit More, Babe" by Barry White

• "Plug Tunin' (Last Chance to Comprehend)"
  • "Intro" by Liberace
  • "Stiletto" by Billy Joel
  • "Son of Shaft" by The Bar-Kays
  • "Written On The Wall" by The Invitations

• "Buddy"
  • "Hit or Miss" by Bo Diddley
  • "Girl, I Think the World About You" by Commodores

• "Description"
  • "Poet" by Sly & the Family Stone

• "Me, Myself and I"
  • "The Show" by Doug E. Fresh
  • "Funky Worm" by the Ohio Players
  • "(Not Just) Knee Deep" by Funkadelic
  • "Rapper Dapper Snapper" by Edwin Birdsong

• "Potholes In My Lawn"
  • "Little Old Country Boy" by Parliament
  • "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
  • "Magic Mountain" by Eric Burdon and War

• "This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.)"
  • "Funk You Up" by Sequence
  • "Got to Get a Knutt" by New Birth

• "D.A.I.S.Y. Age"
  • "My World" by The Rascals
  • "Schoolboy Crush" by Average White Band