Best laid plans
>> De La Soul return to Montreal to do what they do best

by SCOTT C

Like a priceless bottle of cognac sitting on a shelf of generic spirits, De La Soul have aged well. It’s not surprising either that their brand of hip hop will leave a general warmth up in your chest, just like it has since their debut 3 Feet High and Rising. Despite Tommy Boy Records’ recent fall from grace, the boys from Long Island don’t seem fazed at all, continuing to tour and rip shows in preparation for Art Official Intelligence Vol. 3. I caught up with Trugoy just minutes before he hit the sack.

Mirror: I wanted to ask you about the “AOI plan.” I remember that, just before Art Official Intelligence Vol. 1 came out, you guys said in an interview that you wanted to put out not one but three LPs in the course of one year, an ambitious task for any artist. Two years later, you’ve got two down and still one to go. What happened?

Trugoy: Basically, we were thinking about things in an idealistic kind of way, sort of without taking into consideration the way the industry is set up. In the time it took to put out Mosaic Thump, as well as the singles “OOH” and “All Good,” a year had already passed, and we still had to tour and just promote the thing. I don’t think we anticipated the singles doing as well as they did, and the label wanted to push them as far as they could. So that, life, and burnout kind of derailed “the plan.”

M: Where exactly do you stand with Tommy Boy Records now that they’ve officially bitten the bullet?

T: Where do we stand? Well, we were officially released from Tommy Boy after a long relationship. They did a lot of shuffling and shifting around, and in the end we parted ways. But to tell you the truth, we’re really just enjoying the freedom to do what we want right now. We haven’t had that in a while, and it’s nice to be able to explore your creative pursuits without any boundaries.

M: So where is De La Soul going to draw label support from? Have you guys made any decisions as to where you’re going to make your home from here on in?

T: Well, we’ve had a lot of offers from several different labels, but we haven’t exactly decided on one just yet. Like I said, it’s important to us to enjoy the freedom of not being locked into a deal right now. It just feels good.
Up to the challenge

M: Do you still have people approaching you to do collaborations and production? I seem to remember you guys doing a little more work outside of your own camp.

T: Yeah, we get asked, but it’s got to be a challenge for us. You’re not gonna hear De La dropping a verse on just another R&B remix. We need to do something that people just don’t expect. Actually, I’ve been listening to the Neptunes’ new album a lot, and I’d really like to hook up with them. I like their musical attitude, and the innovation is there too.

M: I hung out with Pharrell Williams for an afternoon a couple of weeks ago. That dude knows what he’s doing. Any producer who can break down the genre lines and still stay true to their sound—and have people like you wanting to work with them—must be doing something right.

T: I hear that. Whether it’s the Neptunes or Ozomatli, I just have respect for people who bring something new and represent themselves.

M: So when all is said and done, because this hip hop ride you’ve been on can’t go on forever—

T: True, true.

M: What do you see yourself doing? Is the music industry something that you’d like to continue working in, or are you looking for greener pastures?

T: I think that we’ll definitely continue to work in the music industry. Obviously it won’t be in the same respect, but I think that we’re all creative, resourceful people with lots of ideas. We all have the ability to recognize a good opportunity, and I think that whatever we do, whether it’s a label thing or a clothing thing or a management thing, it’ll have the same creative appeal as De La Soul. :

With Choclair, Mike Mission and more at Aria on Friday, June 7, 8pm, $25