3 Feet High and Rising explained

3 Feet High and Rising
Type:studio
Artist:De La Soul
Cover:De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising Cover.jpeg
Released:February 6, 1989
Studio:
Genre:
Length:67:24
Label:Tommy Boy
Producer:Prince Paul
Next Title:De La Soul Is Dead
Next Year:1991

3 Feet High and Rising is the debut studio album by the American hip hop group De La Soul, released on February 6, 1989,[2] by Tommy Boy Records. It was the first of three collaborations with the producer Prince Paul, and was the critical and commercial peak of both parties. The album title comes from the Johnny Cash song "Five Feet High and Rising".[3] The album contains the singles "Me Myself and I", "The Magic Number", "Buddy", and "Eye Know".

The album was a critical and commercial success. It is consistently placed on lists of the greatest albums of all time by noted critics and publications, with Robert Christgau calling it "unlike any rap album you or anybody else has ever heard".[4] In 1998, it was selected as one of The Sources "100 Best Rap Albums"[5] and in 2020 was ranked 103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[6] It was selected by the Library of Congress as a 2010 addition to the National Recording Registry, which selects recordings annually that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[7] As of 2023, it is the only De La Soul album to be certified platinum by the RIAA.[8]

Along with the rest of De La Soul's back catalog, 3 Feet High and Rising was not made available for digital purchase or streaming until 2023, due to concerns about the legality of the samples for digital releases.[9]

Musical style

Released amid the late-1980s boom in gangsta rap, which gravitated towards hardcore, confrontational, violent lyrics, 3 Feet High and Rising stood out from this trend by showcasing De La Soul's more positive style.[10] The mirth and intelligence of De La Soul's self-presentation led many observers to label them a "hippie" group; however, this characterization was disputed by De La Soul themselves.[11] On the album, De La Soul sought to explicitly distance themselves from gangsta rap by "lampoon[ing] emerging tropes" such as the growing materialism within the genre. Their lyrics are instead characterized by a variety of "bizarre and surreal" choices of subject matter, such as dandruff, gardening metaphors, and "Dr. Dolittle-esque interactions with animals".[12]

3 Feet High and Rising uses a sample-heavy production style; in addition to sampling from funk and soul tracks, as was popular in the hip-hop of the era, the album also draws from sources such as doo-wop, psychedelic rock, and children's music.[13] It has been described as "the first psychedelic hip-hop record". The album has also been noted for its use of unconventional song structures.

Artwork

The album's artwork was designed by Toby Mott's and Paul Spencer's radical British art collective the Grey Organisation (GO).[14] In 1986 Mott and Spencer had moved from London to New York after GO's infamous paint attacks on Cork Street art galleries, where they began working as bicycle messengers. By 1989, GO were exhibiting their paintings around the East Village and working as art directors for Tommy Boy Records and MTV (among others) making music videos for various groups, such as Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Rolling Stones.[15] GO also began designing album covers for groups such as Information Society and De La Soul, most notably 3 Feet High and Rising.[16]

The album features a recurring lyrical motif of the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age", an acronym that stands for "Da Inner Sound, Y'all".[17] This concept also inspired the design of the album cover, as Mott describes in his essay "Hip Hop in The Daisy Age":

Group member Trugoy has stated that De La Soul was not originally interested in the flower-adorned cover that the album ultimately featured; instead, he said the group had wanted an album cover that featured "an elevator halfway up with just our faces."[18]

Reception and influence

3 Feet High and Rising received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. "An inevitable development in the class history of rap, [De La Soul is] new wave to Public Enemy's punk", wrote Robert Christgau of the album in his 1989 "Consumer Guide" column for The Village Voice. "Their music is maddeningly disjunct, and a few of the 24-cuts-in-67-minutes (too long for vinyl) are self-indulgent, arch. But their music is also radically unlike any rap you or anybody else has ever heard — inspirations include the Jarmels and a learn-it-yourself French record. And for all their kiddie consciousness, junk-culture arcana, and suburban in-jokes, they're in the new tradition — you can dance to them, which counts for plenty when disjunction is your problem." Rolling Stone magazine's Michael Azerrad called 3 Feet High and Rising "(o)ne of the most original rap records ever to come down the pike", and described it as an "inventive, playful" record which "stands staid rap conventions on their def ear." When The Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1989, 3 Feet High and Rising was ranked at number one, outdistancing its nearest opponent (Neil Young's Freedom) by 21 votes and 260 points.[19]

Sampling artists as diverse as Johnny Cash, 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).[20] Writing in retrospect for The A.V. Club, Nathan Rabin credits Prince Paul for helping "create progressive hip hop" with his production on 3 Feet High and Rising,[21] while author John Riordan says "its comedy skits and positive lyrics established the group as a progressive hip-hop act at odds with the increasingly violent image of mainstream rap."[22] Phil Witmer of Noisey cites De La Soul's "sampledelia" on the album as an "old-school" example of sampling being applied to "jarring, collage-like effect".[23] 3 Feet High and Rising is also credited with introducing the hip hop skit, a style of comedic sketch used both to introduce rap albums and as interludes between songs.[24]

On the Billboard charts, 3 Feet High and Rising peaked at No. 1 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts and No. 24 in the Top 200.

Retrospective opinion

3 Feet High and Rising has been included on numerous "best-of" lists. In 1998, the album was included in The Sources "100 Best Albums" list.[25] It was ranked number 346 on Rolling Stones 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time",[26] maintaining the ranking in a 2012 revision of the list,[27] then rising to number 103 in a 2020 revision.[28] 3 Feet High and Rising was voted number 138 in the 2000 edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums,[29] while in 2005, it ranked 88th in a survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time.[30] The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[31]

In 2006, Q magazine placed the album at No. 20 in its list of "40 Best Albums of the '80s".[32] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 9 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[33] Spex listed 3 Feet High and Rising at No. 5 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the Century. The album has also been ranked as among the top albums of 1989 by publications including Rolling Stone, The Face, Record Mirror, Sounds, OOR, and Melody Maker.

An NPR retrospective, published in 2023, stated that 3 Feet High and Rising "reshaped the public imagination of what hip-hop could be", and that it "still sounds wondrous and weird" in the musical landscape of the 2020s.

Electronica artist James Lavelle cited 3 Feet High and Rising as one of his favorite albums. "It was definitely a reaction to the slightly more hardcore area of what was going on in hip hop. As a concept record, it's probably one of the best ever. It's like the Pink Floyd of hip hop, their Dark Side of the Moon – the way it musically and sonically moves around, but also the use of language was so unusual and out there."[34]

Macy Gray felt it was "the best record of the past 15 years" in a Q magazine, describing De La Soul as "like the Beatles of hip hop."[35] The Village Voice, meanwhile, described 3 Feet High and Rising as "the Sgt. Pepper of hip hop".

In 2011, 3 Feet High and Rising was among 25 albums chosen as additions to the Library of Congress' 2010 National Recording Registry for being cultural and aesthetical and also for its historical impact.[36]

The track "The Magic Number" was used in the end credits of the 2021 film as a reference to the three iterations of Peter Parker that appear in the film.[37]

Digital release

3 Feet High and Rising, along with the rest of De La Soul's catalogue up until their 2004 release, The Grind Date, was not made available for digital purchase or streaming until March 3, 2023, due to concerns about the legality of the samples for digital releases. Tommy Boy enlisted the music licensing company DMG Clearances to secure clearance for the samples, but talks failed with many of the copyright holders, as they were reticent to become involved with ongoing conflicts between De La Soul and Tommy Boy. After Tommy Boy sold De La Soul's catalog to Reservoir Media, DMG Clearances restarted talks in January 2022 and negotiated licenses for most of the samples. De La Soul interpolated or replayed samples that could not be cleared.[38]

Track listing

Track listing notes:

Personnel

Information taken from AllMusic.[39]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1989)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[41] 129
Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[42] 95

Year-end charts

Chart (1989)! scope="col"
Position
US Billboard 200[43] 86
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[44] 17

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: The Washington Post. DE LA SOUL'S MIND-BENDING RAP. Richard Harrington. 2023-03-23. 2020-08-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20200822014340/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/05/18/de-la-souls-mind-bending-rap/af8f9493-1894-41e2-88f2-ed2057247d0b/. live.
  2. Lindsey, Darryl . Armstrong . Graham . Rap Up . The R&B Report . 30 January 1989 . 2 . 21 . 32 . The Rhythm And Blues Report, Inc. . Burbank, California, USA . English . Coming from Tommy Boy, February 6, is the debut album from the group critics have called Psychedelic Hip-Hop--De La Soul. 3 Feet High And Rising was produced by Prince Paul . 2024-05-20 . 2022-04-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220401194803/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/R%26B-Report/1989/R%26B-Report-1989-01-30.pdf . bot: unknown .
  3. Book: Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies. Brian Coleman. 152. 12 Mar 2009. Random House Publishing . 9780307494429.
  4. Web site: Playboy Feb. 1989 . Robert Christgau . 2011-08-16. https://web.archive.org/web/20110703045737/http://robertchristgau.com/xg/play/1989-02.php. 3 July 2011 . live.
  5. Web site: Source Magazine's 100 Best Albums . Raquenel.com . 2011-08-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724062424/http://www.raquenel.com/hipland/album.html . 2011-07-24 .
  6. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . . 22 September 2020 . 4 August 2021 . 4 August 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210804232229/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/de-la-soul-three-feet-high-and-rising-1063130/ . live .
  7. Web site: The National Recording Registry 2010 . April 10, 2011 . Library of Congress . April 10, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110410130541/https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/registry/nrpb-2010reg.html . live .
  8. Web site: Vernon . Ayiku . De La Soul's Albums Ranked from Worst to Best . . March 7, 2023 . March 9, 2023 . March 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230309033017/https://exclaim.ca/music/article/de_la_souls_albums_ranked_from_worst_to_best . live .
  9. Web site: De La Soul's music catalog makes streaming debut. 4 March 2023. 7 May 2023. 26 March 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230326131322/https://nbcpalmsprings.com/2023/03/03/de-la-souls-music-catalog-makes-streaming-debut/. live.
  10. Web site: De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising 30th Anniversary Mixtape mixed by Chris Read - Wax Poetics . 2019-09-12 . 2019-06-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190619231020/https://www.waxpoetics.com/blog/music/mixtape/de-la-soul-3-feet-high-and-rising/ . dead .
  11. Web site: Wang . Oliver . March 3, 2023 . De La Soul Is Streaming . March 8, 2023 . . March 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230308000916/https://www.npr.org/2023/03/03/1160667344/de-la-soul-streaming-guide . live .
  12. Web site: Christian . Kriticos . A Guide to the Music of De La Soul . . March 3, 2023 . March 8, 2023 . March 7, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230307200510/https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/de-la-soul/a-guide-to-the-music-of-de-la-soul . live .
  13. Web site: Craig . Jenkins . De La Soul's Music Is Here to Stay (For Now) . . March 7, 2023 . March 8, 2023 . March 8, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230308014921/https://www.vulture.com/2023/03/de-la-soul-music-streaming-3-feet-high-and-rising.html . live .
  14. Web site: Andrew Noz . The 50 Best Hip-Hop Album Covers . Complex . 2012-12-04 . 2011-09-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110927045246/http://www.complex.com/art-design/2010/09/Hip-Hops-50-Greatest-Album-Covers/de-la-soul-2 . dead .
  15. Web site: Lydia Slater . 9 September 2010 . Toby Mott, from the punk of Pimlico to power player . Evening Standard . 3 April 2018 . 16 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141216225917/http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/toby-mott--from-the-punk-of-pimlico-to-power-player-6512037.html . live .
  16. Web site: The Art of the Album Cover: De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising by Toby Mott + the Grey Organisation . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130529075317/http://hypergallery.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/de-la-souls-3-feet-high-and-rising-by.html . 2013-05-29 . 2012-12-04 . hypergallery.blogspot.co.uk.
  17. As stated by Maseo, "the stereotype and the stigmatism [...] was put on us with the hippy concept when D.A.I.S.Y. just was an acronym for Da Inna Sound." Web site: Hernandez. Victoria. De La Soul Reflects On Da Inna Sound For 25th Anniversary Of "De La Soul Is Dead". HipHopDX. May 11, 2016. September 27, 2023. en-US. September 29, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230929071451/https://hiphopdx.com/news/id.38762/title.de-la-soul-reflects-on-da-inna-sound-for-25th-anniversary-of-de-la-soul-is-dead. live.
  18. Web site: The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s . . September 1999 . 2023-10-29 . 2024-05-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240520101138/https://books.google.com/books?id=bGjsvmNt8UgC&pg=PA156#v=onepage&q&f=false . live .
  19. News: The 1989 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll . . February 27, 1990 . July 27, 2022 . March 3, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303234014/https://robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres89.php . live .
  20. Book: Robertson, Glen A.. et al. Joe. Levey. Gillian. Telling. Kate. Rockland . Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 1. 1. 2003. 2005. . New York, NY . 1-932958-01-0. 70672814. 191. 342.
  21. News: Rabin. Nathan. Nathan Rabin. March 29, 2002. Prince Paul: Prince Among Thieves. The A.V. Club. July 22, 2021. July 22, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210722085956/https://www.avclub.com/prince-paul-prince-among-thieves-1798194016. live.
  22. Book: Riordan, John. 2020. De La Soul. Music's Cult Artists. Ryland Peters & Small. 9781912983391.
  23. Web site: Witmer . Phil . Frank Ocean's "Seigfried" Builds on the Beatles' Production Legacy . . 18 August 2017 . 16 June 2018 . 16 June 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180616103315/https://noisey.vice.com/en_uk/article/8xx84z/frank-oceans-seigfried-builds-on-the-beatles-production-legacy . live .
  24. News: Phasing out the skit: How hip-hop outgrew one of its most frustrating traditions . . February 17, 2012 . July 27, 2022 . Rytlewski . Evan . July 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220727154801/https://www.avclub.com/phasing-out-the-skit-how-hip-hop-outgrew-one-of-its-mo-1798229914 . live .
  25. 100 Best Albums . . 100 . January 1998.
  26. 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: 3 Feet High and Rising – De La Soul . . December 11, 2003 . July 27, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20101220144257/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/3-feet-high-and-rising-de-la-soul-19691231 . December 20, 2010 . dead.
  27. 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . . May 31, 2012 . September 9, 2019 . May 28, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190528003548/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/de-la-soul-3-feet-high-and-rising-47355/ . live .
  28. The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time . . September 22, 2020 . August 4, 2021 . August 4, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210804142804/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/de-la-soul-three-feet-high-and-rising-1063130 . live .
  29. Book: Larkin, Colin . All Time Top 1000 Albums . All Time Top 1000 Albums . Colin Larkin . . 3rd . 2000 . 0-7535-0493-6 . 85.
  30. 100 Greatest Albums . 100 Greatest . 100 Greatest (TV series) . . April 17, 2005.
  31. Book: Robert Dimery. Michael Lydon. 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. 7 February 2006. Universe. 0-7893-1371-5.
  32. Q August 2006, Issue 241
  33. Web site: The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s. . 5 March 2012. Slant Magazine. 22 March 2012. 29 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131029215602/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-1980s/308/page_10. live.
  34. Features | Baker's Dozen | Baker's Dozen: UNKLE'S James Lavelle On His 13 Favourite Records . The Quietus . 2011-04-20 . 2011-08-16 . 2024-05-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240520101225/https://thequietus.com/interviews/bakers-dozen/james-lavelle-unkle-favourite-records/ . live .
  35. Q, October 2001
  36. "The National Recording Registry 2010." Retrieved from the Library of Congress Web Site on April 8, 2011.
  37. News: Turner-Williams . Jaelani . Gen-Z is Learning About De La Soul Due to 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' . Okayplayer . 2021-12-28 . 2022-01-05 . 2022-01-05 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220105153337/https://www.okayplayer.com/music/spider-man-no-way-home-de-la-soul-song.html . live .
  38. Web site: Setaro . Shawn . 2023-02-09 . Here's How De La Soul Cleared The Samples For Their Classic Catalog's Streaming Debut . 2023-03-09 . OkayPlayer . en-US.
  39. Web site: allmusic (((3 Feet High and Rising > Credits))). Allmusic. 2009-10-28. 2024-05-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20240520101142/https://mb.moatads.com/yi/v2?ol=0&qn=%604%7BZEYwoqI%24%5BK%2BdLLU)%2CMm~t7Re.%5BMhS%3A15.snxNz3%2B1bmlLntoDUj%7B!%3CFeid%5BOV%7C%2B2x%3D(%3Ce7%25%7DSlx%3Am4%2C..8WLdA1%3BxTiWio8bYLaXBjA%3AmQ)%3CF!tAbjrzJ%3BgoVYGVxc%40lQQV%23tc3%2Fh%7C%3FVKV%3BaBgS%3F%2BWx%3Ba5%2F%5BGI%3F4YNmD%3Dn%3Cy)%23*R%23tw98YCC2J.bq!CASw%5EXm0okt%24b_o%3FtVD%5D%5BpN%7CQF%40Sy7%7B%2CNr1U*%26ujMUU8fvb%26%22B&tf=1_nMzjG---CSa7H-1SJH-bW7qhB-LRwqH-nMzjG-&vi=111111&rc=0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C0%2C1%2C0%2C0%2Cprobably%2Cprobably&rb=1-aHRASXsclVCQ5ev8VFriEAhKBRM3uwndnCs78ABRGBCPEpDfmAqnEVFZ&rs=1-BtcrX%2FU2oUtvHw%3D%3D&sc=1&os=1-Sw%3D%3D&qp=00000&is=BBBBB2BBEYBvGl2BBCBBtUTE1RmsqbKW8BsrBu0rCFE48CRBeeBS2hWTMBBQeQBBn2soYggyUig0CBlWZ0uBBCCCCCCOgRBBiOfnE6Bkg7OxCb8MxOtJYHCBdm5kBhBBC9Y8oBXckXBR76iUUsJBCBBBBBBBBBWBBBj3BBBZeGV2BBBCMciUBBBjgEBBBBBB94UMgTdJMtEcpMBBBQBBBniOccBBBBBB47kNBBBBBBBBBBBBBhcjG6BBJM2L4Bk8BwCBQmIoRBBCzBz1BBCTClBBrbGBC4ehueB57NG9aJeRzBqEKiuwBBBB&iv=8&qt=0&gz=0&hh=0&hn=0&tw=&qc=0&qd=0&qf=1400&qe=900&qh=1400&qg=900&qm=0&qa=1400&qb=900&qi=1400&qj=900&to=000&vy=ot%24b%5Bh%40%22oDgO%3DLlE6%3AYnIBMwqCf%5D)4%5Dz%2C%5B%26u9L%2F%2F%24b4%5DIAIbzbld%7Dt00%7Ca_BB%3FVxyEO%22zf4%5D%24cr16Zh5YigBghs%7ClTr1W*d%5B4kf%2FLyUoRdByZ%3C99Ks(I%7DY(T0c%7BDQ3MY.NjDby7p%26C&qr=0&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allmusic.com%2Falbum%2F3-feet-high-and-rising-mw0000199727%23credits&pcode=playwireprebidheader597261727146&rx=900708298866&callback=MoatNadoAllJsonpRequest_7621133#credits. live.
  40. Web site: De La Soul - 3 Feet High And Rising. 3 March 1989. 7 May 2023. www.discogs.com. 17 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230417220105/https://www.discogs.com/release/101317-De-La-Soul-3-Feet-High-And-Rising. live.
  41. Web site: De La Soul ARIA chart history (albums) to 2024. ARIA. Imgur.com. July 20, 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  42. Web site: Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2023/03/08 公開. Billboard Japan. ja. March 8, 2023. March 8, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230308042322/https://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=hot_albums&year=2023&month=03&day=13. live.
  43. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1989. Billboard. November 15, 2021. September 21, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180921185040/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1989/top-billboard-200-albums. live.
  44. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1989. Billboard. November 15, 2021. July 26, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200726083753/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1989/top-r-and-b-hip-hop-albums. live.

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