The wait is over for the first album in over a decade from the hip hop group De La Soul. The 17-track album, and the Anonymous Nobody is available for music lovers to stream and download with features from artists like Jill Scott, Usher and more.
Though the album Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present... First Serve was released in 2012 it only featured group members Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer and David "Dave" Jolicoeur; and excluded original member Vincent "Maseo" Mason Jr., officially making their last studio album 2004's The Grind Date.
Now, after tireless efforts, the "Stakes Is High" rappers have come together yet again to present hip-hop heads with some new flavor, with all three members together.
According to a recent Billboard interview, the three hip hop pioneers never stopped recording individually but, collectively, they only passed along ideas to one another until one day an idea stuck - finally putting together a new full album.
Though the concept of the album seemed a fairly simple decision, many other aspects of composing the project, like deciding on featured artists and funding, didn't come so easy.
Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo ultimately decided to feature Philadelphia soul singer Jill Scott, Usher, and Estelle. They also included rappers Snoop Dogg, 2 Chainz and Pete Rock. One particular song that the group had recorded two-years prior took a little more time to find the right vocalist.
"Two and a half years of trying to figure out what's going to make that record ["Lord Intended"] work, we finally landed on the lead singer of The Darkness [Justin Hawkins]," explained Dave in the Billboard interview.
The group also decided it would be best to stay away from traditional label funding in an effort to not taint the creativity of the project. They ultimately decided crowdfunding through kickstarter would work best for them as it had with others like Spike Lee and Public Enemy.
"Somebody came up with a bright idea. What about crowdfunding," remembered Dave. "We saw how it works but I think the big hang up and apprehension was in we didn't want people to think we were being greedy or broke."
Now fans have the chance to listen to, in its entirety, what their funds put together by downloading and the Anonymous Nobody on iTunes and everywhere else you purchase music.
As De La Soul's tweet acknowledges - the album is here!
Our new album has arrived! Get your copy of 'and the Anonymous Nobody' here: https://t.co/ZgzQhVjGEx pic.twitter.com/GftyWGhinX
— De La Soul (@WeAreDeLaSoul) August 26, 2016
Listen to "Train Wreck" off the new album.
