3 FEET HIGH AND RISING/VINYLE COULEUR JAUNE

Description

This record, or rather this landmark in 20th-century music, hasn't aged a day. The trio from Amityville invents a phenomenal number of things here: the skits, or interludes, that punctuate the songs, and which would become indispensable in the years to come, without ever matching this good humor (the Assimil French method, with "les saucisses" and the eternal "il est midi, c'est l'heure de déjeuner"!). But De La Soul also frees itself from beats borrowed from James Brown and funk, drawing instead from jazz, variety, pop, and the entire repertoire to create these joyful and finely crafted vignettes. "Magic Number," "Eye Know," "Say No Go," and especially "Me Myself And I" are hits of unfailing effectiveness. This album, with its fluorescent and floral cover, is remarkably fluid; every second is inventive and grabs your attention. The family spirit comes together on "Buddy" with Jungle Brothers and Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest, the core of the Native Tongue. A consensual masterpiece of rap, 3 Feet High and Rising is simply a record of joy and intelligence.