De La Soul

Is it possible to grow old gracefully in the youth-obsessed world of hip-hop? The career of backpacker legends De La Soul suggests so. The group’s 2004 studio album, The Grind Date, found the Long Island trio joining forces with underground royalty like MF Doom, Ghostface Killah, Madlib, and 9th Wonder. It was a gloriously adult album that underperformed commercially. The trio continues to tour and record with like-minded artists, including Are You In?, an installment in Nike’s ongoing series of original music mixes from respected artists. The disc is designed as a soundtrack to morning runs, but it can presumably be listened to from stationary positions as well. More recently, members David Jolicoeur (a.k.a. Dave) and Kelvin Mercer (a.k.a. Posdnous) teamed for the new First Serve, a nostalgic concept album that reflects on De La Soul’s rise to stardom.

Updated 04/19/2012