Song of the Day 2/15: De La Soul, “Eye Know”

Unless you were a rap fan back in the golden days of the genre, before copyright laws reined in free-for-all sampling and the creativity it inspired, you probably don’t know De La Soul, so you might not have noticed the death Sunday of David Jolicoeur, aka Trugoy the Dove, aka Plug Two. He was only 54 but suffered from congestive heart failure for several years, and when the group performed at the big Grammy Awards concert to celebrate what it called the 50th anniversary of hip-hop a couple of weeks ago, he wasn’t in the house .

Jack Hamilton of Slate wrote a heartfelt tribute that outlines the case for De La Soul’s historical importance. If you need more evidence, in 2010 the Library of Congress added their debut LP, 1989’s “3 Feet High and Rising,” to the National Recording Registry.

At a time when gangsta rap ruled the charts, “3 Feet High” espoused a mellow psychedelic vibe that took samples from beyond the usual funk and R&B sources. “Eye Know” draws primarily from Steely Dan’s “Peg,” but also takes guitar and horns from the Mad Lads’ 1969 song “Make This Young Lady Mine” and incorporates a bit of Otis Redding’s whistling from “Dock of the Bay.”

The psychedelic graphics and the word “high” in the album title got them tagged as the “hippies of hip-hop,” a label they shed on subsequent albums, but their reputation as the thinking-person’s rappers endured. They had critical acclaim and a loyal following, but legal problems with rights to samples on their early albums kept their catalog off iTunes and streaming services. (Those problems have finally been solved — the group’s first six LPs will be available for streaming early next month.)

The de facto blackout hurt them in the new century, when it restricted their ability to capitalize on their collaboration with Damon Albarn and his virtual band, Gorillaz. Jolicoeur and Albarn co-wrote the 2005 single “Feel Good Inc.,” a No. 14 hit on the Hot 100 and No. 2 in the UK. His impressionistic style doesn’t just fit the song, it gives it the menacing edge that makes it more than a pop jingle.