Music – 5 hours ago

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During a recent Q&A session with The Guardian, Pharrell Williams insisted that his fans listen to De La Soul’s first two albums.

Pharrell Williams is giving props to hip-hop legends De La Soul. In a recent fan Q&A session for The Guardian, the Virginia native was probed by user saintpelligrino who asked: “What album, past or present, does everybody need to hear?”

In response, Williams enthused about De La’s first two albums.

“Everybody needs to get 3 Feet High And Rising and De La Soul Is Dead,” he said.

Adding that the trio’s back catalog is coming to streaming services this year, he also mentioned De La’s occasional collaborator, Damon Albarn, creator of the animated band Gorillaz, who’s worked with the group on songs like 2005’s “Feel Good Inc.”

“Even when they were going through all their stuff [a dispute over the rights to their back catalog], Damon [Albarn] from Blur put them on the Gorillaz albums, because he gets it,” Pharrell continued. “He knows those guys are responsible for making so many of us misfits feel like we actually fit. The De La tribe were the forefathers and founders of the way we see things. I was nearly 16 when 3 Feet High and Rising came out. It was a total game-changer. It changed my life, period. Would I like to work with them? I would do anything for them, they know that. If they don’t, they should.”

It looks like those who have yet to hear 3 Feet High and Rising and De La Soul is Dead will have their chance, as the albums are expected to come to DSPs in March, along with their 1990s releases, Buhloone Mindstate and Stakes Is High. Their 2004 album, The Grind Date, and 2016’s …and the Anonymous Nobody, are on select platforms. The group’s 1989 single, “The Magic Number,” will be available to stream on Friday (January 13).