De La Soul

Hip hop pioneers De La Soul formed in the late ‘80s, and released their Prince Paul-produced debut, 3 Feet High and Rising, in 1989. They were soon hailed as the future of hip hop, representing a vanguard of New York-based artists including A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, the Jungle Brothers, and Monie Love. They reluctantly became the poster child for new legal precedence after losing a lawsuit which required all samples to be cleared before use. They continued to release albums with varying tones and to increasingly mixed reviews throughout the ‘90s and ‘00s, and signed to Sanctuary Urban in 2004.