News

De La Soul’s Maseo and Posdnuos return to Long Island to discuss their earliest sessions with producer Prince Paul in an exclusive clip from the upcoming documentary, The Sixth Borough.

Directed by Jason Pollard, the film digs into the vibrant and influential history of hip-hop on Long Island, which is often overlooked compared to the genre’s storied, well-documented past in New York City. De La Soul are one of the prime examples, with the group forming while Maseo, Posdnous, and Trugoy the Dove (who died in 2023) were still...

Rolling Stone is premiering the first collaboration between a seemingly unlikely but delightful pair of iconic artists: Afrobeat star Seun Kuti and Posdnuos of De La Soul linked up for “Stand Well Well (Grand Stand Version),” a cut from Kuti forthcoming deluxe edition of Heavier Yet (Lays The Crownless Head), out May 28. The new song reimagines a version from Kuti’s original album, which came out in October. The pair have long been mutual fans, they tell Rolling Stone.

“My tour manager and amazing friend, who has since passed on,...

After years in which their body of work was in digital limbo due to legal hurdles, De La Soul have started furiously digging into their own crates. Two weeks ago, surviving members Maseo and Posdnuos announced the re-release of their limited-edition 1994 EP Clear Lake Auditorium. Now, they’re somewhat belatedly celebrating the 20th birthday of their seventh and often overlooked album.

Coming March 21 is an expanded edition of The Grind Date, the 2004 album that found them ditching the skits and working with J Dilla, along other producers; Flavor Flav, Mf Doom,...

De La Soul is going deep into the archives, announcing Friday that they will reissue their rare Clear Lake Auditorium EP, over 30 years after recording it.

The hip-hop group originally released just 500 pressings of the EP back in 1994, sharing it as a promotional record for a select number of DJs. The six-track EP includes a collaboration with A Tribe Called Quest called “sh.Fe.Mc’s,” as well as another featuring Tito of The Fearless Four. Clear Lake Auditorium will release on March 7, and it’s available for pre-order now.

De La Soul stopped by Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday (March 7th) to perform their 1989 classic “Eye Know” alongside the song’s co-producer, Prince Paul. Watch a replay of the performance below.

Maseo, Posdnuos, and Prince Paul began their appearance by mixing in each element of the beat live on stage, including the whistles, sax, guitar, and the Steely Dan sample. Acknowledging the feel-good vibes of the performance, the audience engaged in some crowd participation toward the end.

Earlier this month, the Long Island legends dropped a 35th anniversary edition of 3 Feet High and Rising including five bonus tracks. Get your copy here. In further celebration of the landmark album, Maseo and Posdnuos also launched a five-episode series called Art Official Intelligence Radio on Apple Music 1.

2023 was a bittersweet year for De La Soul, who were hit with the tragic death of Trugoy the Dove just weeks before...

De La Soul’s surviving members, Posdnuos and Maseo, teamed with Prince Paul, who produced their debut, 3 Feet High and Rising, on Thursday to celebrate the record’s 35th anniversary on The Late Show. To mark the occasion, the trio showed how to “cook a 35-year-old dish” — the album’s Steely Dan–saturated single, “Eye Know” — as if it were a stew.

Wearing neon aprons that evoke the album’s cover art, Pos told the crowd, “We have some simple ingredients, and what we need to do is start with whistles.

Wu-Tang Clan and Nas are heading out on a 2023 run of their “NY State of Mind Tour.” Update: De La Soul will open on the North American leg beginning in September.

Named after Nas’ classic Illmatic track, the 32-date global trek kicks off on May 9th in Auckland, New Zealand, followed by additional stops throughout Australia, Europe, and the UK. The North American leg kicks off in Nashville on September 20th and includes cities like Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago, DC, and Seattle before wrapping up in Highland, California on October 22nd. See the full itinerary below.

Purchase your tickets via Stubhub, where orders are 100% guaranteed through StubHub’s FanProtect program. StubHub is a secondary market ticketing platform, and prices may be higher or lower than face value, depending on demand.

Revisit our recap of the 2022 “NY State of Mind Tour” kickoff in St. Louis here. Last year, Wu-Tang’s seminal debut,...

De La Soul have been close collaborators with Gorillaz dating back to their appearance on the 2005 hit “Feel Good Inc.,” but it turns out they were originally supposed to guest on a completely different song. During a recent episode of Kyle Meredith With…, De La Soul co-founder Maseo revealed that Damon Albarn initially suggested they appear on a different Demon Days single: “Kids with Guns.”

“When we went to do ‘Feel Good Inc.’, the initial song was ‘Kids with Guns,'” Maseo recalls. “When we were having a conversation about ‘Kids with Guns,’ I honestly came out and said, ‘Hey man, I think we forcing it.’ I said, ‘I don’t think this is the record. I think we’re not really collaborating, we’re just featuring on the record. It’s like Gorillaz featuring De La. We really need to do like a collaboration, where we both artistically show our flavor.

Despite the tragic death of co-founder Trugoy the Dove in February, it doesn’t look like the surviving members of De La Soul will be calling it quits anytime soon. Speaking on a new episode of Kyle Meredith With…, Maseo said that he and bandmate Posdnuos are working on putting out new music, and their highly-anticipated album Aoi 3 is “definitely happening.”

Aoi 3 would complete the trilogy De La Soul started in 2000 with Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump and its 2001 successor Aoi: Bionix. “Aoi 3 is definitely going to to take precedent,” Maseo said when asked about De La Soul’s upcoming plans. “It’s going to be the very next thing. That’s a responsibility that we have to our fans — a responsibility we even have to ourselves — with completing that trilogy… We have a responsibility to continue on just to sustain [Trugoy’s] legacy and what we’ve built as three childhood friends,...

Talib Kweli and Madlib dropped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for the late-night debut of “Air Quotes,” one of the standout tracks from the rapper-producer team’s recently released collaborative album, Liberation 2.

“Air Quotes” notably features the first collaboration between Kweli and his daughter, Diani, who provides vocals on the track. Both Diani and Kweli’s son, Amani, accompanied their father for the late-night performance. Watch the replay below.

Liberation 2 was also preceded by the album cut “Best Year Ever” before its arrival exclusively on the Luminary podcast network in early March. The long-awaited LP, which follows the duo’s first titular installment from 2007, also boasts a loaded roster of contributors including Q-Tip, Roc Marciano, Westside Gunn, and Mac Miller, posthumously.

Meanwhile, aside from the momentous reunion between Talib Kweli and Madlib, Fallon also recently hosted the hip-hop greats De La Soul, who performed “Stakes Is High” with...

In a bittersweet moment, De La Soul stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, March 16th, to perform “Stakes Is High” from their classic 1996 album of the same name. They were backed by The Roots, with Black Thought standing in for the late Trugoy the Dove’s verses on the track.

Questlove and the rest of The Roots band’s instrumental prowess blended perfectly with De La Soul’s criticism of hip-hop culture in 1996. Posdnuos reminded fans old and new of his command of the mic and sharp lyrics during the nearly six-minute performance, while Black Thought recited Trugoy’s words to perfection. Toward the end of the track, Posdnuos went acapella with his final verse. Watch the replay below.

Prior to performing, surviving De La Soul members Posdnuos and Maseo opened up about the arduous, 15-year process of bringing their catalog to streaming services; reminisced about...

De La Soul stopped by The Tonight Show to revisit their 1996 track “Stakes Is High” with the help of house band the Roots. The group gave a groove-laced rendition of the track, which comes off their fourth album of the same name.

Ahead of the performance, band members Posdnuos and Pasemaster Mase sat down with host Jimmy Fallon to discuss being able to finally release their albums on streaming services. Pasemaster Mase noted they’ve been trying to make it happen for “a good 15 years.” The duo reminisced about their early days,...

De La Soul’s entire catalog is available on all streaming platforms and digital retailers for the first time as of today, March 3rd, 2023.

Due to sample clearance issues and label disputes with Warner Bros. Records and Tommy Boy Records, none of De La Soul’s music before 2004 had ever made it to streaming services.

In February 2019, Tommy Boy acquired the group’s master recordings from Warner, but plans to bring their first six albums to streaming services were scrapped when De La Soul pushed back on the move and revealed they would only be receiving 10% of the profits. Subsequent negotiations with Tommy Boy broke down, and no further progress was made until music rights company Reservoir acquired the label for $100 million in June 2021.

At the time, a representative for the company promised Reservoir would work with De La Soul “to bring the catalog and the music back to the fans.

Maseo and Posdnuos, the remaining members of De La Soul, paid tribute to their bandmate David “Trugoy The Dove” Jolicoeur on Wednesday.

Taking to social media, Maseo and Posdnuos posted letters addressed to Trugoy, who died at the age of 54 on Feb. 12 from causes not immediately revealed. Trugoy, who had recently been going by the name Dave and was also known as Plug Two, had been open about his struggles with congestive heart failure.

In his letter to Trugoy, Maseo thanked him for “having the birds eye view of our...

Damon Albarn is just one of many mourning the loss of David Jude Jolicoeu, the hip-hop pioneer better known as Trugoy the Dove. The Gorillaz bandleader honored the late De La Soul co-founder with an instrumental clip shared on Instagram today.

Trugoy died on February 12th following a recent congestive heart failure diagnosis. As a De La Soul member, he collaborated frequently with Albarn and Gorillaz, including on the virtual band’s unforgettable breakout hit “Feel Good Inc.” and on their albums Plastic Beach and Humanz.

Albarn’s video tributing Trugoy isn’t of any song they’ve done together, instead featuring a short instrumental of an unreleased song, where all we can see is a close-up of the piano’s hammers: “A loop for Dave. I love you,” Albarn wrote in the caption.

Gorillaz’s Instagram account also posted a photo of the band performing with De La Soul: “Our brother,...

David Jude Jolicoeur, known widely as Trugoy the Dove and one of the founding members of the Long Island hip hop trio De La Soul, has died. He was 54.

His representative Tony Ferguson confirmed the reports Sunday. No other information was immediately available.

In recent years, Jolicoeur, had said he was battling congestive heart failure, living with a LifeVest machine affixed to his person. De La Soul was part of the hip-hop tribute at the Grammy Awards last week, but Trugoy was not onstage with his fellow bandmates.

Tributes poured in on social media shortly after the news broke Sunday.

Read More: De La Soul’s Music Will Finally Be Available For Streaming In March 2023

“Dave! It was a honor to share so many stages with you,” wrote rapper Big Daddy Kane on Instagram.

Rapper Erick Sermon posted on Instagram that “This one hurts. From Long Island from one of...

David Jude Jolicoeur, who passed away on Sunday, Feb. 12 at the age of 54, helped revolutionize hip-hop and change the course of popular music. It’s why he’s being mourned so widely in the rap community today, and far beyond it as well. As one-third of De La Soul, alongside Kelvin “Posdnous” Mercer and DJ Vincent “Maseo” Mason, the Haitian American musician and producer who adopted names like “Jude,” “Trugoy the Dove,” “Plug 2,” and, finally, just “Dave” expanded the art form in ways not seen before or since. Many fans...

David Jude Jolicoeur, the rapper known by his stage name Trugoy the Dove, has died. He was 54.

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Jolicoeur, who was one of the founding members of the rap trio De La Soul, had been “struggling with his health,” according to All Hip Hop, the outlet that first reported the news.

It was back in 2018 when the artist talked about his congestive heart failure saying, “I’m ready just to get back to the stage. I miss that. I love traveling. I love being around my guys and I want that back.”

Jolicoeur is widely recognized for collaborating in the popular Gorillaz song “Feel Good Inc.” being credited as a writer.

The...

Trugoy the Dove, co-founding member of the iconic hip-hop group De La Soul, has died at the age of 54.

A cause of death has not yet been revealed. However, Trugoy was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in recent years. Notably, he did not join fellow De La Soul members Posdnuos and Maseo at last weekend’s Grammys tribute to hip-hop.

Hailing from Long Island, De La Soul is considered one of the most innovative and influential groups in hip-hop history. Trugoy, whose real name was David Jude Jolicoeu, formed the group alongside high school friends Vincent Mason (aka Maseo) and Kelvin Mercer (aka Posdnuos). The trio went on to lead a loose collective of like-minded New York hip-hop groups including A Tribe Called Quest and the Jungle Brothers.

De La Soul’s debut album, 1989’s 3 Feet High and Rising, was unlike anything that had been heard in hip-hop before, with its eclectic mix of samples,...

David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, one-third of the iconic rap triumvirate De La Soul, has died, Rolling Stone has confirmed. The news was first reported by AllHipHop. He was 54. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

Trugoy, who had recently been going by the name Dave, and was also known as Plug Two, had been open about his bout with congestive heart failure in recent years. In De La Soul’s 208 “Royalty Capes” video, Trugoy candidly spoke about how his ailing health kept him from performing.

“I’m ready...

Pioneering rap trio De La Soul’s catalog will finally be available on streaming services March 3.

De La Soul and Reservoir Media announced Tuesday that the group’s first six albums, including its platinum-selling 1989 debut, 3 Feet High and Rising, will be available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and other digital platforms. The release coincides with the 34th anniversary of the trio’s first album, which was inducted into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry in 2011.

“We can’t believe this day is finally here, and we are excited to be able to share our music with fans, old and new,” De La Soul said in a statement.

To celebrate the news, the Grammy-winning ensemble will digitally release its 1989 single, “The Magic Number,” on Jan. 13. The song got a boost when it was played during the end credits of 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.

De La Soul includes Posdnuos...

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: De La Soul’s back catalog will soon be available on streaming services. Well this time, it appears it’ll actually happen, with the legendary hip-hop trio announcing that their music will finally hit the digital realm on March 3.

De La Soul started teasing the news on social media and their website. A post on Facebook featured an image that read simply “De La Soul streaming on 3/3/23.” Meanwhile, on Instagram, the group shared a video of a giant billboard — in conjunction with Amazon Music — emblazoned with,...

After a long battle to get their back catalog heard in the digital realm, De La Soul’s music will hit all streaming platforms later this year, the group announced on Instagram Live.

The group, who cut ties with their label of 30 years Tommy Boy last year after negotiations fell apart on streaming rights, have partnered with Reservoir Media, the music rights company who acquired Tommy Boy in June.

“We’re trying to work hard and diligently along with the good folks at Reservoir to get this done. We sat...

It's been more than a decade since the 1990s ended, yet the Internet can't seem to go a day without a reminder of the neon slap bracelets that may have been banned from your school.

Yes, we get it. Times are tough and there's comfort in reflection, but enough is enough.

Below, a final goodbye to the 90s to end the nostalgia once and for all. (We're not kidding. There are 1990 items below.)

1. Scrunchies

2. "The Wild Thornberries"

3. Dawson and Joey

4. "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys"

5. Mr. Feeny

7. MTV playing music videos

8. Snick

9. The premiere of "Freaks and Geeks"

10. Levar Burton

11. "Daria"

12. "Arthur"

13. "The Powerpuff Girls"

14. "Smart Guy"

15. Comedy Central globe logo with buildings

16. "The X-Files"

17. Rosie O'Donnell

18. Bill Nye

19. "Dawson's Creek"

20. The Mighty Ducks"

21. "Are You Afraid of the Dark"

22. Cornholio

23. Rachel Green

24. Tim Allen

25. "All That"

26. "Beverly Hills 90210"

27. "Step by Step"

28. "The Ren & Stimpy Show"

29. "The Famous Jett Jackson"

30. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer...

"Everybody's on that rap-mogul shit, right now," says John (Dorian Missick), a middle-aged It guy who went by the moniker Big Words in the '90s, during the golden age of hip-hop. He and his group Dlp were the next big things, influenced by De La Soul and battling their label to protect the integrity of their music. Now scattered in different directions, living wildly different lives (one of the group is out of the closet), and not having spoken in years, the trio is reunited by fate on the night of the 2008 presidential election, as Barack Obama is set to make history. Writer-director Neil Drumming's dialogue-driven feature is exasperating because it comes so close to being excellent. Full of ideas on art, politics, relationships, and the construction of identity, it's that rare film i...

Flavor Flav's not been having an easy time of it these days with his latest fried chicken restaurant, facing legal troubles and other issues. Maybe he should rethink this business venture, seeing that the locations in Iowa and Vegas tanked? Yeah, we know your name is Flavor Flav but that doesn't mean that you're an expert in the restaurant business. Kevin Bacon doesn't go around curing meat (as far as we know).

Flavor Flav's Chicken & Ribs, which advertises itself using the motto, "Chicken You Crave, Perfected By Flav," has been reopened just One Day after the landlord shut it down and evicted Flav and his crew from the Sterling Heights, Michigan, location. The Public Enemy hype man is usually known for his dance moves and fashion statement of a huge clock worn around his neck, but he's apparently decided it's now time for him to enter the food industry.

De La Soul have now added visuals to their comeback single "Get Away (Feat. The Spirit of the Wu)," as the three originators can be found deeply embedded in a Rubik's Cube. "The feel is definitely gritty, hard and sounds like a Wu record, so out of inspirational respect, we included featuring 'The Spirit of the Wu' in the song title," Posdnuos told Rolling Stone of the track "Get Away." Check out the cool clip below: the song is the first to arrive from "You're Welcome," their new album due this fall. As previously reported, De La Soul's "You're Welcome" will be...

Ray Manzarek -- keyboardist and founding member of The Doors -- has died at age 74.Manzarek passed away at 12:31pm at the RoMed Clinic in Rosenheim, Germany after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer, according to a statement published on The Doors' official Twitter account.Manzarek and Jim Morrison formed The Doors in 1965 after a chance meeting in Venice, California. The Doors would become one of the biggest rock acts for years, until Morrison's death in 1971.Celebrities took to Twitter to pay tribute to the rocker. Read their Tweets below:Slash ‏@SlashRIP Ray Manzarek words cannot express...Pete Yorn @PeteYornRIP Ray Manzarek. Turn up light my fire. m.tmz.com/#Article/2013/05/20/ray-manzarek-dead-th... …Elijah Wood ‏@woodelijahThe End. Sad to hear of Ray Manzarek's passing.Questlove Jenkins ‏@questloveThe End tmz.me/Z8NFMH ... #TheDoorsDJ Maseo (De La Soul) @DeLaSoulsDugoutR.I.P Ray Manzarek (The Doors) De La sampled The...

Thumbs up: Zara, Little Mix (yes, really) and Adam Driver. Boo hiss: Off-the-peg shirts, Great Gatsby fashion and macaroons

Going up

Cassie The R&B singer's new mixtape RockaByeBaby is perfection. Download it for free now.

Zara's box blazer Zara always give good blazer, but this one's particularly Emmanuelle Alt'esque. Cut perfectly for a nice bit of shoulder robing, too.

Little Mix's How Ya Doin' A reworking of De La Soul's Ring Ring Ring. We've given up trying to hate it.

Adam Driver Off our screens now Girls is over, but recently cast in "dark family comedy" This Is Where I Leave You. The wait will be tough.

Reflective fabrics Now on Vans x Carhartt collab. At Ashish and Nike for AW13. Time to shine.

Going down

Flapper fashion flap Less than a month to go to The Great Gatsby. The pressure…

Marilyn Monroe footwear Launching in September.

Irony included, De La Soul sampled Wu-Tang Clan's "Intro" to reintroduce themselves to the masses on new song "Get Away." As previously reported, it's the first time since 2004 that Kelvin Mercer (aka Posdnuos), David "Dave" Jolicoeur (aka Trugoy) and Vincent "Maseo" Mason all showed up in the same place at the same time to making an album, marking this tune a bonafide turn at a comeback. The legendary hip-hop trio get dark on this “Get Away (feat. the Spirit of the Wu),” a good-will return to music-making in an uncharacteristic villainous tone. As the crew's DJ says, it takes square...

De La Soul haven't released a new song in nine years, and so it seems they want their first new opportunity to soap-box a little on a subject they know well: the state of hip-hop. The rap pioneers will drop "Get Away (feat. the spirit of Wu-Tang)," the first in a series: they plan to release a new track once a month for a year, through YouTube and social media. According to Rolling Stone, "Get Away" will be a reintroduction of the trio to today's listeners, but with a catch. "It's pretty much reflecting on the state of hip-hop at this...

Female Rappers have existed as long as Hip Hop itself but it took a while for them to be established on the scene. Roxanne Shante was one of the first female rappers to score success back in 1984 during the Roxanne Wars between Utfo and DJ Marley Marl. I think she really set the bar for female rappers in terms of quality of rapping.

Once considered rare and exotic, female MCs are plentiful in rap now and my top 10 Female Rappers can hold their own with any male rapper out there. New and exciting female artists are emerging on the scene all the time and adding spice to the world of Hip Hop. I have compiled for you a list of who I think are the best female rappers who have worked in the industry. If I have forgotten any of your personal favourites please drop me a line in the comment box below.

In a move that should satiate at least some '90s hip-hop enthusiasts, LL Cool J, DJ Z-Trip, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, and De La Soul have announced a joint tour together. The Kings Of The Mic tour kicks off May 23 in Tucson, Arizona and is partially in support of LL’s new record, Authentic, due out April 30. Tourmates Z-Trip and Chuck D are featured on the record's lead single, the truly horrible “Whaddup,” which the trio will no doubt play live each night, because they’re cruel sadists who hate their fans. On the other hand, attendees ...

Stepping out to support a good cause, Padma Lakshmi and Susan Sarandon attended The Endometriosis Foundation of America's Celebration of The 5th Annual Blossom Ball at Capitale in New York City on Monday (March 11).

The "Top Chef" cutie also served as host for the charity event in a sleeveless purple-and-white patterned dress, while the 66-year-old Academy Award winner donned a draped long-sleeved gown with black heels and a matching necklace.

Performing at the star-studded event was Grammy-winning group De La Soul, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta also appeared.

Recently, the 42-year-old Indian-American beauty spoke to The Daily Meal about the time change, admitting, "I prefer to spring forward than to fall back. I do miss that extra hour of sleep, though.”...

De La Soul have been announced as the headline act for next year's Standon Calling festival. The Us hip-hop trio top the bill for the boutique festival, which takes place from August 2 to August 4 in Hertfordshire. "We are delighted to have De La Soul headline Standon Calling," said festival founder Alex Trenchard. "It's an act I've wanted to bring to Standon for a while. De La Soul is the first in a series of exciting announcements, and the calibre of entertainment we have planned for 2013 is incredibly high. "We (more)...

Okay, so new-on-the-scene Too Many T’s are a fair way off the Beastie Boys’ 40-million-albums-sold mark – for starters, their first Ep isn’t even out yet.

But the popularity of this English rap duo is soaring, rapidly.

And it’s no wonder, because they certainly have the swagger, verbal dexterity and fun-factor of the legendary American group.

It's a rap: Too Many T's' Standaloft (left) and Leon Rhymes

The Huffington Post UK witnessed London-based Leon Rhymes (real surname Smith), 29, and Standaloft (first-name Ross), 25, at Cheltenham’s Wychwood Festival this summer, entertaining a crowd with mesmeric rapping gymnastics, brilliant banter and demonstrating big-star stage charisma.

Since then, they’ve been championed by DJ Rob da Bank and have barely paused for breath between gigs up and down the country, including an appearance at Bestival in the Isle of Wight.

Luckily, we managed to pin them down in a boozer in Camberwell,...

“Three. That's the magic number.” So claimed legendary rappers De La Soul in the Daisy Age of 1989. And it would seem that everyone's favourite Time Lord agrees too. Back in 1972, three incarnations of The Doctor were needed to defeat the awesome might of Time Lord pioneer Omega and his lumbering jellies. Three is normally the number of seconds afforded by gun-totin' maniacs such as The Brigade Leader, before the trigger is pulled. And in Earth's future, it seems that only three Daleks are needed to create fear and terror throughout the land, while hiding in a cramped metal box.

The Power Of Three extended to the latest triple whammy shenanigans in Doctor Who. Now this doesn't relate to a killer phone network, nor does it relate to a clandestine Time Lord code – in fact, it refers to the penultimate hurrah of the ongoing Tardis trio. The Power Of Three revolves...

Fat Joe tells MTV News his latest single is 'what hip-hop is supposed to be.'

By Rob Markman

Fat Joe

Photo: MTV News

During the early 1990s, the Native Tongues was one of rap's most influential collectives. Comprised of groups A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul and Jungle Brothers, the crew collaborated on beloved hip-hop tracks like De La's "Buddy" and "A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'." It's unifying tracks like those that inspired Fat Joe's latest single "Pride N Joy."

"That's exactly what it was," Fat Joe said of the song's Native Tongues comparisons. "It was like Native Tongues, it was like crazy, everybody was in there, and that's what hip-hop is supposed to be."

The track was produced by Kanye West and brought Miguel, Roscoe Dash, Jadakiss, Mos Def, Busta Rhymes and DJ Khaled all together in the studio. It was Yeezy who put the plan in motion.

?uestlove hypes up the 'diverse lineup' at the fifth annual music festival, including Wale, De La Soul and Meek Mill.

By Rob Markman

?uestlove

Photo: MTV

Hip-hop's hardest-working band is getting ready to put in overtime this weekend as the Roots put on their fifth annual Roots Picnic in the City of Brotherly Love.

Wale, Kid Cudi, Meek Mill, De La Soul and Diplo will join the world-famous Roots crew and perform during the two-day music festival on Saturday and Sunday at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. The picnic has grown over the years as the idea was birthed back in the band's early days while they were touring in Europe.

"This year will mark the first time that we're doing two days instead of one," Roots maestro ?uestlove told MTV News back in May. "I'm extremely proud of the diverse lineup that we have. Between Wale, Meek, Kid Cudi, De La Soul,...

Kanye, Jadakiss, DJ Khaled, Busta Rhymes, Roscoe Dash, Miguel and Mos Def turn up on Joe's breezy love ode.

By Rob Markman

Fat Joe

Photo: Getty Images

Fat Joe has one heck of a poker face. Back in April, after studio pictures of Joe Crack, Kanye West, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes and DJ Khaled made their way onto Twitter, the Bronx rapper played coy when MTV News asked him about the photos.

"Hip-hop moments, that's it. It was just a back-in-the-days hip-hop moment," Joe Crack told MTV News about the all-star studio session one week after the pictures leaked. "For, like, a whole week, we've just been vibing, everybody's been vibing with each other, and it's a beautiful thing."

Joey told MTV News that he, Yeezy and the gang were "discussing hip-hop politics," but they were clearly up to so much more. On Wednesday night, the Terror Squad leader hit iTunes with "Pride N Joy,...

In addition to his role as a rapper, Yauch was also involved in film and human rights efforts.

By Gil Kaufman

Adam Yauch

Photo: Getty Images

Like an intertwined set of fat laces on an old-school Adidas shell toe shoe, the verbal flow of the Beastie Boys was always seamless. McA, Ad-Rock and Mike D dipped in and out of each others lines and traded off verses like a three-headed hip-hop hydra, their flows unique, but always tightly packed.

With the death of Adam Yauch (aka McA) on Friday (may 4) at the age of 47, that flow is forever interrupted, but the New York-born rapper's legacy lives on not just in his rhymes but in his many efforts outside the scope of his Mc role. While the B-Boys always presented a united front in the studio and on stage, McA was a renaissance man whose many interests ranged from direction videos...

Rapper has been battling cancer since 2009.

By Gil Kaufman

Adam Yauch

Photo: Mick Hutson/ Getty Images

Adam Yauch, one of the founding members of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rap trio the Beastie Boys, died on Friday (May 4) at the age of 47 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

The news was announced on the GlobalGrind website, which is run by Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons, the man who signed the Beasties to their first label deal. "GlobalGrind is confirming this very sad news," read the post. "One of our heroes, Adam Yauch aka McA of the Beastie Boys has passed this morning after a long bout with cancer. Our prayers go out to the family of Adam and the entire Beastie Boys crew."

For photos of Yauch through the years, click here.

Rumors about Yauch's ongoing battle with cancer were sparked anew last month when the rapper was...

Rapper has been battling cancer since 2009.

By Gil Kaufman

Adam Yauch

Photo: Mick Hutson/ Getty Images

Adam Yauch, one of the founding members of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rap trio the Beastie Boys, died on Friday (May 4) at the age of 47 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

The news was announced on the Global Grind website, which is run by Def Jam Records co-founder Russell Simmons, the man who signed the Beasties to their first label deal. "GlobalGrind is confirming this very sad news," read the post. "One of our heroes, Adam Yauch aka McA of the Beastie Boys has passed this morning after a long bout with cancer. Our prayers go out to the family of Adam and the entire Beastie Boys crew."

For photos of Yauch through the years, click here.

Rumors about Yauch's ongoing battle with cancer were sparked anew last month when the rapper...

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Website: www.caxtonpresshiphop.com

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Release Date: 8th May

Charlie Chaplin isn’t a figure you’d usually associate with talking let alone hip-hop music yet here the final speech from his 1940 comedy film The Great Dictator (mocking Hitler and the Nazis no less) is re-captured by new British group Caxton Press as a call-to-arms outro for the masses to stand up and take note. Enter Shame the Devil, the band’s debut LP – a myriad of cultural and literary references, old-school rapping and the whole spectrum of sampling and production courtesy of Profound. The quartet of rappers (Kingpin, Amy True, eMCee Killa & Manage) plus live show DJ Snuff each boast impressive bios, ranging from performing at BBC Radio 1 Maida Vale Studios to touring worldwide to singing for Barack Obama’s stepmother (rather than his Uncle or his cousin twice removed obviously...

Dizzee Rascal has been confirmed to headline this year's Eristoff Forest Party in Austria. The rapper has announced that he will play the event, which serves as the climax to this year's Snowbombing Festival. The star is joined by Labrinth and DJ and radio presenter Mistajam at the party, which takes place in Mayrhofen, Austria on April 13. The show, which has previously been headlined by the likes of Fatboy Slim, De La Soul (more)...

A Madlib co-sign generally spells success. The famed multitasker, hip-hop maven and noted abuser of psychotropics works within a spacious wheelhouse, composing trippy futurist manifestos for everyone from Mf Doom to Freddie Gibbs, De La Soul to Ghostface Killah. While Madlib's solo work (2000's The Unseen, 2003's Shades of Blue) tends to be unwieldy, his newest pet project is wholly functional. The producer and creative muse/first-time collaborator Georgia Anne Muldrow are in unswerving lockstep; turns out it's not so hard doing business with strangers after all.

Kid Cudi, Wale and Diplo are seT To Take The sTage aT The upcoming RooTs Picnic concerT. HosTed by hip-hop band The RooTs, The fifTh annual concerT will Take place aT The FesTival Pier aT Penn's Landing in Philadelphia on June 2 and June 3. The RooTs will also perform aT The concerT as well as oTher acTs such as De La Soul, James Murphy from LCD SoundsysTem, Diplo's Major Lazer, St VincenT and Danny Brown. Mr Mfn eXquire, Dice Raw, Ocd: Moosh & TwisT, FlossTradamus, Young Gliss, Rone, Shabazz Palaces, STar Slinger, (more)...

The Roots have gathered some famous friends from the world of hip hop and beyond for their fifth annual Roots Picnic this summer. The Philly group will be joined by a diverse array of performers including upstart Kid Cudi, rap legends De La Soul, indie goddess St. Vincent and LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy offering a DJ set. Mixtape king Wale, NYC weirdos tUnE-yArDs and Chicago hip hopper Flosstradamus will also appear at the two-day fest, which will take place June 2nd and 3rd at the festival pier at Penn’s Landing in Philadelphia. The Roots themselves will be pulling double-duty, by performing their...

The death of Davy Jones should give us pause to remember that the Monkees were one of the great groups of the 1960s

In the Purcell Room in London last night, a panel of pop sages – Jon Savage, Nicky Wire and Alexis Petridis – chose the TV moment that made them realise pop music was the key to their future, something that could open up their lives. Respectively, they picked the Rolling Stones, the Smiths, and Adam & the Ants; all three groups were inspirational but all equally seemed unattainable, otherworldly.

The Monkees were the exact opposite. Two or three generations of musicians will have grown up watching their show on Saturday mornings, or in the summer holidays, thinking: "I want to be like them." Their lifestyle was highly desirable and didn't seem impossible: form a band, move into a ramshackle flat together, meet loads of girls. At least, Davy Jones, who died yesterday,...

De La Soul think people have trouble relating to modern hip hop. The rap group's Kelvin Mercer and Dave Jolicoeur have teamed up with French producers 2 & 4 - aka Chokolate and Khalid - to create First Serve, a concept album charting the plight of a pair of budding young rappers, and they hope it has a message people can relate to no matter where they are. Dave exclusively told Bang Showbiz: 'A lot of artists, they live in a certain environment and talk about the environment they live, unfortunately enough, not everyone can relate. 'And I think there was an era when artists talked about a broader environment, issues as oppose to what was happening...