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De La Soul on 20 years of ‘The Grind Date’, unreleased Mac Miller collab and new music
De La Soul have spoken to NME about the 20th anniversary of their classic ‘The Grind Date’, as well as an unreleased Mac Miller collab, mourning Trugoy the Dove, and what the future holds.From their classic debut album ‘3 Feet High and Rising,’ to their Grammy Award-winning Gorillaz collaboration ‘Feel Good Inc.’, the hip-hop legends have been earning the title of rap royalty for over 35 years – and are now celebrating two decades of their seventh album.In 2004, after their label Tommy Boy Records ended its joint venture with Warner Records, the New York trio (comprised of Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove and DJ Maseo) released ‘The Grind Date’ – their first album on Sanctuary/BMG Records. Featuring the likes of Common, Ghostface Killah, MF DOOM and Sean Paul, as well as production from J Dilla, Madlib, 9th Wonder and Supa Dave West, the album kicked off a new era for De La Soul.Speaking to NME from New York, Posdnuos and Maseo shared their memories of making the classic album, while also opening up about the loss of Trugoy the Dove (aka Dave Jolicoeur), who passed away in February 2023, and whether they plan to release new music following his death.NME: Hello De La Soul. The story of ‘The Grind Date’ actually started when you found yourselves stuck in the Warner Records system. How did you get over to Sanctuary Records?Posdnuos: “Once the unfortunate thing happened when Tommy Boy [Records] and Tom [Silverman, founder] had owed Warner a ton of money and he didn’t meet whatever deadline he needed to meet, the parent company snatched the label away from him.