European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Rappers de la soul wont get caught in a . Chain by Robert Hilburn los Angeles times driving along the Serene residential streets of Amityville n.y., about an hour from new York City it must be hard for the average pop fan to realize that this is the Home base for de la soul one of rap s most acclaimed groups. From the beginning rap was considered an inner City sound and the music s image a despite the Carefree exuberance of . Hammer and Vanilla ice a has tended to be associated with the tensions and trials of the ghetto. All of this made de la soul s 1989 debut album 3 feet High and rising an Eye opener. From the cheerful innocence of the music to the group s . Age logo on the Day Glo album cover the collection was a highly accessible package that reached Well beyond the Normal demographics of rap and led to the group being called the hippies of the genre. Imagine the Surprise then when de la soul returned recently with a second album that was even More startling de la soul is dead. The album cover a drawing of dead daisies in a kicked Over Flowerpot. Built around such Stark disturbing tracks As my brother s a base head about drug addiction and Millie pulled a pistol on Santa sexual abuse the new album is much Darker in tone. If it does not move the Trio from the suburbs to the ghetto it at least deposits them in some sort of Halfway House. Some rap observers regard the album s frequent references to the frustrations of Fame As evidence that rap s Flo yer children have turned into embittered Overly self referential Young men. Others suggest that the Amityville Trio has adopted a More hard Core style for commercial reasons a to build a stronger base with rap s traditional audience. Post nuts a the name adopted by de la soul s Kelvin Mercer a nods when the reactions to the surprising tone of de la soul is dead Are cited. Quot people say the title is bitter but the whole thing started As a joke Quot he says sitting on the wooden deck behind the two Story House where fellow de la soul member baby Huey Maseo Vincent Mason or lives with his Mother. Quot after 3 feet High started fading on the charts we used to joke about How de la soul was dead. Quot it was during the downtime Between albums that every group goes through. It s like you really Are dead to some people. Girls who were always calling you and wanting to be around you disappear. They go after whoever has the new record out. Quot so we were joking we re dead we re dead. No one wants us anymore it was just funny to us seeing How people would Dis us knowing that once we come Back out these same people would be after us again. And we finally decided that s a Good title. It s funny. It catches people s attention and it tells them that this is a different  Post nuts baby Huey Maseo and Truvoy the Dove Are the group names adopted by Mercer Mason and David Jolicoeur respectively. Post nuts is a playful reverse of sop sound a nickname Mercer coined for himself a As a maker of music a years ago. Baby Huey the cartoon character fils Maseo because of his bulk. Truvoy is Yogurt a favorite food spelled backward. But they just refer to each other As pos Mase and Dove. It s not just the imagination and wit of the music on 3 feet High that intrigued pop and rap audiences. The idea of rap hippies was a natural promotional device and a great Angle for the Media. The three rappers were themselves intrigued at first by All the commotion but later became frustrated when some people started talking More about the hippie trademarks than the music. Quot the whole . Age thing started one Day when Dove and i were in Macy s in our local mall and there was de la soul from left Maset pos and Dove. This real big Panama shirt on the rack with Minnie mouse on it holding a Daisy Quot pos says a touch of frustration in his voice Quot we needed a name for our Crew and our production company so we thought let s use Daisy it was a colourful image and Dove came up with something to fit their acronym . A inner sound y All. It was just our Way of saying the music is something real something from our heart. But it was no big Deal. Quot we were too Young to even know much about the hippies. We d seen a what s his name. At Woodstock burning up guitars and All that a Jimi Hendrix. But we did t know the depth of what hippie  the new de la soul is dead album title and cover Art was clearly a move to disassociate the group from the . Age hippie imagery. Quot we just hate being stereotyped Quot pos says. Quot we wanted to shatter any preconceptions about us. We might have gone too far in one direction on the first album. We want to do every Type of music. This record is As much a part of our personality As the first one. Quot if we came Back and did another album like 3 feet High it d be even harder for us to change next time and you be got to change if you want to keep your music  de la soul will be touring Europe later this year. For places and times Check the on stage listings on pages 14-15. Chart 8. Unforgettable Natalie Cole 9. Every heartbeat Amy Grant 10. Love and understanding country chg singles pop a singles 1.1 do it for you Bryan Adams 2. Right Here right now Jesus Jones 3. Unbelievable emf 4. . Relhm Syndicate 5. Summertime . Jazzy Jeff amp the fresh Prince 6. Rush Rush Paula Abdul 7. Piece of my heart Tara Kemp 8. Every heartbeat Amy grand 9. It Ain t Over til its Over Lenny Kravitz 10. Temptation Corina top a albums 1. Unforgettable Natalie Cole 2. For unlawful carnal knowledge Van Halen 3. Spellbound a Paula Abdul 4. Gonna make you sweat a amp a music factory 5. Slave to the grind skid Row 6. Robin Hood Prince of thieves soundtrack 7. Out of time a . B. No fences Garth Brooks 9. Luck of the draw Bonnie Raitt 10. Efil4zaggin n . Top a albums 1. Rush Rush Paula Abdul 2. Can to forget you Gloria Elefan 3.1 do it for you Bryan Adams 4. Power of love love Power Luther Vandross 5. Place in this Wohld Michael w Smith 6. The dream is still alive Wilson Phillips 7. More than words extreme 1.1 am a simple Man Ricky Van Shelton 2. Done to Rock the Jukebox Alan Jackson 3. Somewhere in my broken heart Billy Dean 4. She s in love with the boy Trisha Yearwood 5. Here a a Quarter Travis Tritt 6. Here we Are Alabama 7. You know me better than that George Strait 8. Lord have mercy on a country boy Oon Williams 9. The Moon Over Georgia Shenandoah 10. Falling out of love Heba Mcentire amp by singles 1. Baby i m ready Levert 2. Main course a Freddie Jackson 3. Summertime . Jazzy Jeff amp the Fresn Prince 4. Gotta have you Stevie wonder 5.1 can t wait another minute i five 6 motown Philly Boyz ii men 7. Optimistic a sounds of blackness 8. Nights like this after 7 9 can you Stop the rain Perabo Bryson 10. Exclusivity Damian Dame jazz a albums last week s listing 1.1 remember a Dianne Reeves 2. Unforgettable Natalie Cole 3 Standard time vol. 2 intimacy calling Wynton Marsalis 4 artistry the Harper Brothers 5 serenity Stan Getz a a n 6 Sarah dedicated to you Carmen Mcrae 7 you wont forget me Shirley Horn. 8. Learson s return a Marlon Jordan quintet 9. Pubic Eye Roy Hargrove i Jai 10. Tribute Keith Jarrett compiled by billboard 10 stripes Magazine july 25, 1991