With February being the universal month that the hip-hop community focuses on and celebrates the life and music of iconic hip-hop producer J Dilla, the multitude of Jay Dee tributes and mixtapes that are released in that twenty-eight day span is never lacking in quantity. In a surprising and welcomed announcement, the legendary hip-hop group, De La Soul, extended that celebration of Dilla into the month of March by not only releasing a brand new single, “Dilla Plugged In”, which is dedicated to the beloved Detroit producer, but also announcing that they will be releasing a full mixtape later this year titled, Smell The D.A.I.S.Y, which will consist of De La rhyming over nothing but Dilla beats.
Yesterday marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of De La Soul’s first album, Three Feet High and Rising, and in commemoration of that, the trio released a message to their fans regarding their gratitude and plans for new music in 2014:
It’s been 25 Years since our “Three Feet High” release. We have a lot great memories and an incredible journey. Amazingly enough, our fans stuck around, supported and still want more. Ok, but before you get that, here’s a little De La over Dilla Beats.
Enjoy and look out for the new mixtape Smell The DA.I.S.Y. all beats by J Dilla. Peace… and in advance, You’re Welcome.
In the middle of performing at the official Dilla Day celebration at The Fillmore in Detroit this past month, De La’s emcees, Posdnuos and Trugoy, stopped the music and took a moment to express to the fans that the main reason they haven’t been making new music as frequently as they’d like, is because Dilla, who inspired them more than anyone else in the music industry, was no longer alive to provide that influence for them. So whether them being in Detroit to celebrate Dilla’s life amongst his family and closest friends is what inspired this project or not, De La Soul and Dilla fans alike can now look forward to an amazingly rare assemblage of music to add to their collection in the near future.
On top of this Dilla project, De La Soul has recently announced that at the end of this month they will be releasing an EP called, Premium Soul On The Rocks, which consists of them rapping over some brand new DJ Premier and Pete Rock beats. They will also be dropping their eighth official studio album (and first in ten years), You’re Welcome, this summer.
Folks, De La Soul is back on their grind in 2014, and we couldn’t be more pleased about it.
