It would seem like a no brainer to feature De La Soul in an edition of You Know I Got Soul considering “soul” is in their name. The legendary Hip-Hop group has been a part of our audio experience for over two decades. With untouchable punchlines coupled with smooth vibes, De La Soul has not only mastered Hip-Hop music, but they have enhanced it. Now the crew is out to take on a brand new charge – athletics. Earlier this year, De La joined forces with Nike on their NIKE + campaign, which matches sports with rap in a way that’s never been done before – or at least unintentionally. Artists make music designed for the sport. While De La Soul was busy crafting sounds for the runners (the athletes not the production duo), we caught up with them for their individual Top 5 for taking it down a notch and breaking away from the rap. Check out how many of their favorites are the same; it’s no wonder how they’ve worked so well together for so long.
Trugoy
1. Coldplay
I like the writing. I think the first time I probably heard
Coldplay was when “Yellow” was in a movie soundtrack. So I found out what that
was and said let me look this up and see who these guys are. Then I found that
album, Parachutes, and was hooked since
then. I just like the writing a lot. I like the fact that Parachutes sounded more like it was piano written, piano-based
songs. Then the album that followed [Viva La Vida] was different. They started writing songs, you
know, maybe on a guitar. I think the writing is incredible to me and the songs
are just like deep but not deep where it’s like far gone and spacey. It’s
just…cool tunes.Clocks – Coldplay
2. Fela Kuti
Every time I hear a song I just riddle myself with that one
question like “Did James Brown get his style from Fela? Did he like catch the
funk vibe from Fela or did Fela catch the funk vibe from James?” I know a
couple of engineers who worked with Fela and they’ve often said that Fela spoke
of James borrowing the style or hearing him first. So when I listen to his
music, I just sit there and kind of listen to the contrast of what James was
doing and what Fela was doing and try to figure out you know one of those what
came first the egg or the chicken. So that’s what I sit down and enjoy with
Fela, outside of just loving the music and the sound and how he arranged the
music. SWEG BE & PAKO – FELA KUTI
3. Devo
Devo reminds me of the De La and the Ultramagnetics of their
style, their genre, which ever way you want to put them. They’re just one of
those groups that you can’t really place a finger on. Whatever you want to name
them…call them Hardcore. You know, whatever you want to call them. They always
just stood out and had their own style and sound and obviously a look to it and
an attitude to it. I think it’s one of those bands that got not only some great
quirky sometimes weird tunes together but they also brought an attitude that
made you want to believe in it as well. They lived the sound of their music as
well. When you saw them it was always quirky, always different, always kind of
interesting. Whip It – DeVo – Devo
4. The Police
I love The Police. I love Sting’s voice. I like how they
often had that Reggae influence. Whether it was Ska or some Rock in there, they
always had that kind of like Reggae feel to it. Obviously being from the UK and
getting that Jamaican culture vibe in their music was probably something they
naturally grew up with so I just enjoy the tunes. Always great records. I love
Sting as a solo artist as well, but The Police have always had great joints.Every Breath You Take – The Police
5. Aretha Franklin/Chaka Khan (TIE)
Good tunes. Amazing voices. Their influence on Hip-Hop as
well. A lot of people don’t know people have sampled Aretha Franklin and
obviously sampled Chaka Khan. For me my greatest Aretha Franklin tune is
probably “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”. I just love how that record sounds…her
voice, the organs and just the background singers as well. Just one of the
greatest tunes…not as popular as Respect or Pink Cadillac, “Bridge Over
Troubled Waters” is I guess like a Gospel tune as well. When I want to feel
good I put that tune on. So Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan…two greats. Two great
women divas in the soul R&B category.All Good – De La Soul feat. Chaka Khan
Posdnuos
1. Stevie Wonder
Just growing up and listening to his music…being young and
not realizing who [Stevie] is or hearing my father playing his earlier music.
Then of course growing up and getting older and hearing certain albums like Songs
in the Key of Life…that album was just an
incredible album to me. Every song resonated with me. So I mean from there
anything that he pretty much did, a lot of the different music he did…it’s just
timeless…stuff that I could relate to now but even then. I mean as a child for
me to be a kid and someone’s relating to me, it felt good. Stevie Wonder – Superstition – Stevie Wonder
2. The Police
I always loved Sting’s voice. Once again being young and I’m
like wow these white boys are doing this incredible Reggae Ska-ish type stuff,
you know a lot of their early stuff. So it was cool and continuing to…well now
continuing to just grow and release music it’s just so good. I mean “Voices
Inside My Head” was just one of the most amazing records. I remember being
young and WBLS in New York playing it all the time and it was just this song.
What actually blew me away about that song was it really wasn’t any words. It
was just more like them just chanting “voices inside my head” but the music and
the groove and the beat was catchy. So I mean like that was just another reason
to move me to them and then I just became a straight fan and whenever I hear
they’re coming out with something I always look forward to hearing it. The Police – Voices Inside My Head
3. Earth Wind and Fire
One of the most amazing bands personally for me…just
soulfully from Phillip Bailey to Maurice White to just the incredible brass
section. I mean when I was younger I used to try to play a little trombone so
that lead me to just even relate to them more and the sound that they had.
Honestly what they were talking about even for me to realize then like it
wasn’t always about partying or love. They would go as far to talk about the
sun or just different things…terrestrial versions of things. It was just cool
and their covers were just so amazing…the pyramid and all those great things
like that. Funny enough for us to be in De La Soul now and when we came out and
those are the things you realize from behind the scenes that labels paid
attention to like you know are they going to relate to your record cover, this
that and the third. Now to just think like yeah when I was young those are some
of the things that I’d probably just listen to the music and I could just
glance at the cover and stare and find different things for days. Earth, Wind & Fire – September – Earth, Wind & Fire
4. Coldplay
I really love their last album and just even once again when
they were introduced to the scene and getting more into them, it just felt good
to hear their music. Especially as you said we are Hip-Hop artists and I think
De La Soul has always been very much into using and gaining inspiration from
other groups outside of Hip-Hop to bring that into what we’re working with. So
I mean for me, Coldplay is kind of the up-to-date version of that. Being able
to listen to a lot of the groups back in the day and being like wow this is
what I’m going to take inspiration from for this song. Coldplay to me in
arrangements and what they’re talking about in the music…it draws the same for
5. Billy Joel
Once again it was just to have something standout as he was
just a great songwriter. Hearing the songs that he’s writing about, him at the
piano, a lot of times when it’s not even so much a lot of other instruments
around him…some of the most incredible songs have just sent chills through my
spine just listening to the words and how he manipulates words to use in the
story he’s telling and I definitely as a emcee try to do the same. We Didnt Start The Fire – Billy Joel – Billy Joel
Maseo
1. Ozomatli
They’re just a really great, great soulful Latin band. I
can’t even really say they’re all just Latin. They really do a wide scope of
different styles and they’re just very soulful. It touches you. Something about
the musicians in the band as a collective when they rock together whether they
perform or make records together, it touches me. It just touches my spirit.
Whether I understand it, whether the music is in English or not, Ozomatli is
just incredible. They’re really incredible. I was first introduced to them when
Common did a song with them. That was the first time I was really introduced
and then you know the album around that time and that’s what made me really get
into them. Cant Stop – Ozomatli
2. Curtis Mayfield & 3. Donny Hathaway
I really been listening to a lot of his [Curtis’] music
lately. Both of them have really been speaking to my spirit. Some difficult
times I been going through and their music really is timeless…I can just
totally relate to a lot of it. Especially the things Curtis Mayfield’s talking
about because a lot of my family overall comes from a lot of those rough
conditions. In the last two years I been reaching out to my family, beyond like
my first cousins, and we all been connecting on many different levels and we
all been reminiscing of our childhood. So Curtis Mayfield’s music is like the
soundtrack to our lives. And recent discussions between me and one of my
cousins keep resorting back to like Curtis Mayfield music that was around our
lives at that time. I also been really like into discovering what different
artists sampled that I didn’t even know came from Curtis. Curtis Mayfield – Superfly – Curtis Mayfield
4. Spam Allstars
They’re like a funk-soul-Latin band. Kind of in the Fela
Kuti vibe. They’re kind of on that vibe. They’re really new; they’re out of Del
Ray Beach, Florida. Their music is on iTunes and it’s really hot to me. I saw
them at this little club in Florida. I like to go to these little cool-out
spots that kind of remind me of like The Apartment…of APT [in New York City].
You always bound to come up on some new, fresh talent…or something new and
fresh period. It happened that [Spam Allstars] happened to be showcased in
there one night and I was into it. I came back to the crib and I realized their
music was on iTunes and I bought an album. It’s bangin! I still search for
music you know? True essence of a DJ.
I got to find out what’s making me feel good and try to
incorporate it in my style of DJing. But Spam Allstars, check them out. For
real. I don’t even know these guys. On some real s**t, they didn’t even know I
was in the spot. I just happened to be there on some incognito tip and just
tried to be a regular spectator and I came up on some good s###. I didn’t go up
to them like “yo, I’m Maseo”, none of that crap…I ain’t do none of that. I went
back to the crib and was like alright, let me check them out online and see
what it is. That’s really what it is because the show was hot! Ochimini – Spam AllStars
5. Stevie Wonder
An inspiration to our lives. A man within a vision…he was
seeing beyond what we all could see. The timeless music he’s made like…he just
keep popping up on my playlist constantly. You see Stevie in the current days
or recent days and he’s sounding fresh and he’s sounding current and to go back
and listen to the old material, it’s refreshing…it’s all still relevant, it’s all
still brand new. All of that coming from a person who’s been blind their entire
life. You seeing the world from inside. Think about the s**t he’s singing
about. Look at it…you can actually picture the words he’s saying and that’s
coming from someone who doesn’t have any sight. My kids dig Stevie Wonder. My
daughter’s eight and it’s not because her dad’s in music or nothing like that…it’s
all on her own discovery. Hearing songs like “Do I Do” because she’s just kind
of hanging out with her grandmother. Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke – Stevie Wonder