De La Soul have successfully reached their crowdsourcing target to fund their next album.
The trio recently announced their eighth album, titled ‘And The Anonymous Nobody’. Their first album in 11 years, it will feature the likes of Damon Albarn, David Byrne, 2 Chainz and Little Dragon.
The hip-hop group aimed to fund the album via a Kickstarter campaign, with the threepiece previously aiming to raise $110,000 (£74,185) for the recording. They’ve now reached their goal, with 11,169 backers pledging $600,874 (almost £400,000) for the project.
The band’s Dave Jude Jolicoeur said of the news, “One way to look at this is that we’re sampling ourselves. So far, we’ve got over 200 hours of tape – we’ve been recording this music for years and finally we’ve got what we need to make the best De La Soul record ever.”
The record will be De La Soul’s first LP since 2004’s ‘The Grind Date’ and will feature samples from original recordings made by the group and session musicians in LA over the past three years.
De La Soul recently unveiled a brand new track featuring hip-hop legend Nas. ‘God It’ won’t appear on their upcoming album, but is an indication of the music to come. De La Soul wrote in a caption with the track: “While busy at work, we also like to play! This song is not from the new album, but an indication of the good music to come… Just a little appetizer until we complete the main course. You may recognize our featured guest. Enjoy.”
Last year, De La Soul released a new song called ‘The People’, which featured a guest spot from Public Enemy‘s Chuck D. Speaking about the song to Rolling Stone, De La Soul’s Trugoy commented: “Lyrically, Chuck brings a sense of authority and urgency. The power in his voice demands your attention. It’s a dream come true for us.”
He continued: “The track’s vibe was earnest and had a pressing tone to it. The lyrics are commentaries of our struggles and successes, our weaknesses and strengths… the experiences, trials and tribulations we have faced as human beings, a race and individuals.”
In 2014, De La Soul also joined Damon Albarn onstage at London’s Royal Albert Hall for a performance of the Gorillaz track ‘Feel Good Inc’. The three-piece group’s Vincent ‘Maseo’ Mason asked for silence in the hall before breaking into the wicked laugh that begins the track. After, he thanked “my brother and my friend Damon Albarn.”