3 Feet High and Rising

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3 Feet High and Rising
3 Feet High and Rising cover
Studio album by De La Soul
Released 1989
Recorded 1988
Genre Alternative Hip hop
Length 65:59
45:56 (bonus CD)
Label Tommy Boy Records
Producer(s) Prince Paul
Professional reviews
De La Soul chronology

3 Feet High and Rising
(1989)
De La Soul Is Dead
(1991)


3 Feet High and Rising is the influential debut album from American hip-hop trio De La Soul.

Contents

[edit] Overview

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 labeled 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 Johnny Cash, Hall & Oates, Steely Dan's "Peg" and The Turtles, 3 Feet High and Rising is often viewed as the stylistic beginning of 1990s alternative hip hop (and especially jazz rap). Of particular importance is the production by Prince Paul, who would become one of hip hop's hottest producers on the strength of this album. While sampling was hardly new, 3 Feet High and Rising revolutionized the technique and influenced virtually every producer and artist to come later.

[edit] The Music

Lyrically, the album was incredibly unusual for its time. Even beside its revolutionary exhortations for peace and harmony, many of the songs are extremely personal and heartfelt recountings of early sexual intercourse ("Jenifa Taught Me"), love ("Eye Know") and insecurity regarding personal appearance and fashion ("Can U Keep a Secret", "A Little Bit of Soap" "Take It Off"). With the exception of "Do As De La Does", there is very little profanity on the album, in stark contrast to most hip hop albums from the time period. "Jenifa Taught Me", "Tread Water" and "The D.A.I.S.Y. Age" are three of De La Soul's most popular songs among their fans. Many of the lyrics are humorous and/or nonsensical ("Sun, ceiling/Ceiling connects to the sun, burning inside everyone, on a side Plug-a-fied sire/One million/Demonstrations have been heard, my hair burns when I'm referred/Kid shouts my roof is on fire/Go dancing/Dancing like a bandit, psychics try to stand it, keep it up until they burn a cell/Ro-mancing/Romancing dialect in shows, Posdnous creating flow, you say you didn't know/Oh well, it's a D.A.I.S.Y. age."), and are inventive and original, stylistic predecessors of MF Doom and Busta Rhymes; Posdnous compares the rhymes to dance in "The Magic Number" ("the phrasing Fred Astaires"). Many of the listeners who compared the group to hippies criticized the album for a childlike, simple approach at complex issues, as on "Tread Water", where a series of animals exhort the listener to maintain a positive mental attitude. Supporters point to songs like "Say No Go" as a realistic portrayal of the pitfalls of drug abuse (the title is a reference to Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign. Posdnous criticizes Reagan, but applauds the sentiment); the song was deeply personal for Posdnous, whose own brother was addicted to crack cocaine.

The first track, entitled "Intro", is a skit that takes place at a game show. The contestants (the three members of De La Soul plus producer Prince Paul) are asked four questions by the host (Al Watts), and their attempts at answering are scattered about the album. The song "Ghetto Thang" is one of the few non-positive tracks on the album. It is a sad story about poverty and other social ills, even though De La Soul is from middle-class suburb Amityville, New York (on Long Island). Its denunciation of ghetto violence can be summed up in the words "Ghetto gained a ghetto name from ghetto ways/Now there must be ghetto gangs and ghetto play/If ghetto thing can have its way and get arranged/Then there must be some ghetto love and ghetto change". "Description" describes each member of De La Soul, and a few others, in five lines each, the style reminiscent of a limerick.

[edit] Reviews

It also made it on Rolling Stones' 200 Essential Rock Records and The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums (both of which are unordered). When Village Voice held its annual Pazz & Jop 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.

"An inevitable development in the class history of rap, [De La Soul is] new wave to Public Enemy's punk," wrote critic Robert Christgau in his Consumer Guide column's review of 3 Feet High and Rising. "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 gave the album three stars and concluded that it was "(o)ne of the most original rap records ever to come down the pike, the inventive, playful 3 Feet High and Rising stands staid rap conventions on their def ear".

It was ranked 7 in Spin's "100 Greatest Albums, 1985-2005", ranked 88th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 346 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

[edit] Miscellaneaous

  • Though the idea was quickly abandoned, the original concept behind the group was that Mase was PA and Posdnuos and Dove were the microphone plugs, transmitting messages from Mars. This is the origin of the nicknames for Posdnuos and Dove, Plug One and Plug Two, respectively.
  • The Turtles won a lawsuit against De La Soul over the unauthorized sampling of "You Showed Me" on "Transmitting Live from Mars".
  • The title 3 Feet High and Rising comes from a Johnny Cash song called "Five Feet High and Rising" ("How high's the water, Mama?/It's three feet high and rising"). This song is sampled on the album. Some have interpreted the title as a reference to drug abuse; De La Soul has not commented on this interpretation.
  • The members of the group have said that the only thing they would change about 3 Feet High and Rising is the cover, because the light-hearted colors do not mesh well with their somber faces.
  • De La Soul in collaboration with Nike Skateboarding created two SB Dunks (one low, one high) based on the 3 Feet High and Rising album cover.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Album

Side One

  1. "The Magic Number" – 3:16 - (Becker/Fagen/Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  2. "Jenifa Taught Me (Derwin's Revenge)" – 3:25 - (Q Tip)
  3. "Ghetto Thang" – 3:35 - (Clinton/Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove/Wynn)
  4. "Transmitting Live from Mars" – 1:11 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  5. "Eye Know" – 4:13 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  6. "Tread Water" – 3:52 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  7. "Potholes in My Lawn" – 3:50 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  8. "Say No Go" – 4:20 - (Huston/Mason/Trugoy the Dove/Trugoy the Dove)
  9. "Plug Tunin'" – 4:12 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  10. "Buddy" (with Jungle Brothers, Q-Tip, Queen Latifah, Monie Love) – 4:54
  11. "Me Myself And I" – 3:40 - (Pasemaster Mase/Posdnuos/Prince Paul/Trugoy the Dove)
  12. "This Is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime (L.I.F.E.)" – 3:19 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  13. "D.A.I.S.Y. Age" – 4:42 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)
  14. "Plug Tunin'" [Original 12" Version] – 3:43 - (Huston/Mason/Mercer/Trugoy the Dove)

[edit] Bonus compact disc

When Tommy Boy Records re-issued 3 Feet High and Rising on October 23, 2001, initial pressings included this compact disc as a companion. It mainly featured B side tracks, alternate versions of album tracks and skits that would later impact other De La Soul albums.

  1. "Freedom of Speak (We Got Three Minutes)" – 2:59
  2. "Strickly Dan Stuckie" – 0:42
  3. "Jenifa (Taught Me)" [12" Version] – 4:42
  4. "Skip To My Loop" – 1:12
  5. "Potholes in My Lawn" [12" Version] – 3:46
  6. "Me, Myself & I" [Oblapos Mode] – 3:31
  7. "Ain't Hip to be Labeled a Hippie" – 1:50
  8. "What's More (From the Soundtrack Hell of 1st Avenue)" – 2:05
  9. "Brain Washed Follower" – 2:49
  10. "Say No Go" [New Keys Vocal] – 4:45
  11. "The Mack Daddy on the Left" – 2:31
  12. "Double Huey Skit" – 3:52
  13. "Ghetto Thang" [Ghetto Ximer] – 3:52
  14. "Eye Know" [The Know It All Mix] – 7:12

[edit] Partial list of samples

The following lists some of the songs and sounds sampled for 3 Feet High and Rising.

[edit] Album samples

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

Tread Water

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

A Little Bit of Soap

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)

Buddy

Description

  • "Poet" by Sly & the Family Stone

Me, Myself and I

Potholes In My Lawn

  • "Little Old Country Boy" by Parliament
  • "Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss
  • "Magic Mountain" by Eric Burton 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

[edit] Bonus compact disc samples

Freedom of Speak (We Got Three Minutes)

Skip To My Loop

  • "13 (Death March)" by Wes Montgomery & Jimmy Smith
  • "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Wes Montgomery & Jimmy Smith

Ain't Hip To Be Labeled A Hippie

What's More

Brain-Washed Follower

  • "Booty Butt" by Ray Charles
  • "Funky President" by James Brown
  • "So This Is Our Goodbye" by The Moments
  • "You Made A Believer (Out of Me)" by Ruby Andrews

The Mack Daddy on the Left

  • "Hector" by the Village Callers

[edit] Personnel

  • Jungle Brothers - Performer
  • De La Soul - Arranger, Assistant Producer
  • Prince Paul - Arranger, Producer, Mixing
  • Q-Tip - Performer
  • Sue Fisher - Engineer
  • Trugoy the Dove - Arranger
  • Bob Coulter - Engineer
  • Al Watts - Mixing
  • Steven Miglio - Layout Design

[edit] Song Performers

The Magic Number

  • Verse 1: Pos
  • Verse 2: Dove

Change In Speak

  • Verses 1 & 3: Pos
  • Verse 2: Dove

Cool Breeze On The Rocks

  • Mixed by: Mase

Jenifer Taught Me

  • Verses 1 & 3: Dove
  • Verse 2: Pos

Ghetto Thang

  • Verses 1, 2 & 5: Pos
  • Verses 2 & 4: Dove

Eye Know

  • Verses 1 & 3: Pos
  • Verses 2 & 4: Dove

A Little Bit Of Soap

  • Performed by Pos

Tread Water

  • Verses 1 & 2: Dove
  • Verses 3 & 4: Pos

Potholes In My Lawn

  • Verses 1 & 3: Dove
  • Verse 2: Pos

Say No Go

  • Verse 1: Pos
  • Verses 2 & 3: Dove & Pos

Plug Tunin

  • Verses 1 & 2: Pos
  • Verses 3 & 4: Dove

Buddy

  • Intro and verses 1, 8 & 11: Dove
  • Verses 2, 6 & 14: Pos
  • Verses 3, 7 & 12: Afrika of The Jungle Brothers
  • Verses 4, 9 & 13: Mike G of The Jungle Brothers
  • Verses 5 & 10: Q-Tip

Description

  • Verse 1: Dove
  • Verse 2: Mase
  • Verse 3: Pos
  • Verse 4: Q-Tip
  • Verse 5: Granny
  • Verse 6: China & Jette
  • Verse 7: Prince Paul

Me Myself & I

  • Verses 1 & 3: Dove
  • Verses 2 & 4: Pos

This Is A Recording...

  • Verse 1: Pos & Dove
  • Verse 2: Pos (with Dove)
  • Verse 3: Dove

D.A.I.S.Y. Age

  • Verses 1 & 2: Pos
  • Verses 3 & 4: Dove
  • Outro: Pos, Dove, China & Jette

[edit] Album singles

Single cover Single information
"Potholes in My Lawn"
  • Released: 1988
  • B-side: They Don't Know That The Soul Don't Go For That
"Plug Tunin'"
  • Released: 1988
  • B-side: "Freedom Of Speak"
"Me Myself and I"
"Buddy"
  • Released: 1989
  • B-side: Ghetto Thang
"Eye Know"
  • Released: 1989
  • B-side: The Mack Daddy On The Left
"Say No Go"
  • Released: 1989
  • B-side: The Mack Daddy On The Left
"The Magic Number"
  • Released: 1990
  • B-side: Buddy (Native Tongue Decision Version - Edit)

[edit] Charting singles

Date Title Chart Position
1989 "Me Myself And I" The Billboard Hot 100 No. 34
1989 "Me Myself And I" Hot Rap Singles No. 1
1989 "Potholes in My Lawn" Hot Rap Singles No. 22
1989 "Say No Go" Hot Rap Singles No. 11
1989 "Me Myself And I" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 1
1989 "Say No Go" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 32
1989 "Me Myself And I" Hot Dance Music/Club Play No. 1
1989 "Say No Go" Hot Dance Music/Club Play No. 3
1989 "Me Myself And I" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 1
1989 "Say No Go" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 13
1990 "Buddy" Hot Rap Singles No. 2
1990 "Buddy" Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks No. 18
1990 "Buddy" Hot Dance Music/Club Play No. 27
1990 "Buddy" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales No. 11

[edit] References

    [edit] External links

    De La Soul
    Posdnuos | Dave | Maseo
    Studio albums
    3 Feet High and Rising (1989) | De La Soul Is Dead (1991) | Buhloone Mindstate (1993) | Clear Lake Audiotorium (EP) (1994) | Stakes Is High (1996) | Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) | AOI: Bionix (2001) | Live at Tramps, NYC, 1996 (2004) | The Grind Date (2004) | The Impossible: Mission TV Series - Pt. 1 (2006) 
    Singles
    Potholes in My Lawn| Plug Tunin'| Buddy| Eye Know| Me Myself And I| Say No Go| The Magic Number| Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)| A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"| Millie Pulled A Pistol On Santa / Keepin' The Faith| Breakadawn| Ego Trippin' (Part Two)| Fallin'| Stakes Is High| Itzsoweezee (HOT)| 4 More| Oooh.| All Good?| Thru Ya City| Baby Phat| Shoomp| Shopping Bags (She Got From You)| Rock Co.Kane Flow|Feel Good Inc.
    Related articles
    Native Tongues | Prince Paul | Spitkicker
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