Let me begin by saying RIP to my favorite member of De La, David Jolicoeur, aka Dave, aka Plug 2, aka Trugoy The Dove. The hip-hop world lost a real one. His presence and unique style shaped not just De La Soul but the entire landscape of hip-hop.

As a dedicated De La supporter, I was thrilled to see this book. I didn’t know much about the group beyond their music and was eager to dive into their story and the journey that brought them to iconic status. This book offers a fresh perspective on the group, giving us glimpses into their creative process, the challenges they faced, and their remarkable impact on music culture.

Every recording artist should hope to have a fan as loyal and dedicated as Marcus Moore. Marcus penned this book out of a deep reverence for De La Soul, and I see it as a comprehensive love letter of sorts. His admiration is evident on every page, and his research and personal reflections reveal just how important De La’s influence has been on the hip-hop scene.

Some chapters were more engaging than others. While I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the book, by the middle, it sometimes felt like I was reading an extended magazine article. I found myself wishing for a deeper dive during those sections.

My favorite part of the book was the final chapter. In it, Marcus begins with a letter to Dave, and he closes with heartfelt letters to his mother and his aunt, both of whom have also passed away. This chapter brought a deeply personal touch to the book, connecting Marcus’s own story with that of De La’s, which made for a powerful, emotional ending.

Overall, High and Rising is a thoughtful tribute, capturing both De La Soul’s legacy and the personal connections that fans like Marcus feel with their music. It’s a must-read for any fan of De La Soul, and it’s a reminder of the lasting impact that music can have on our lives.

Enormous thanks to #netgalley, #deystreetbooks, & #marcusjmoore for the opportunity to read this well-researched and heartfelt tribute to a legendary hip-hop group -- De La Soul.

Pos, Dave, and Mase have been a big part of the soundtrack to my own life since the very early '90s. Being a little bit older than the author, it was cool to hear his personal experience compared with my own. He was introduced to a variety of music via family members (his cousin, I believe, intro'd De La) and he described being immediately drawn to the band's unique style and vibe and to the inherent joy they exhibited through their music and visual presentation. I was very interested in the historical background of the band (including each of its members) as well as detailed information on each of the albums and its cultural significance at the time and later through the years. Though the band peaked and ebbed, the author did a great job showing how they stayed relevant as new "genres" arrived and departed within the music scene -- the rivalries that developed and the impact of corporate greed and power on the success (or stifling) of music and artists.

De La Soul (and references to their predecessors like The Jungle Brothers and later collective The Native Tongues) brought back the most incredible memories of unique and joyful times in my own college life. Seeing De La and Tribe and others at live shows and festivals. The energy and feelings of being lifted in those moments and the contagiousness of being with like-minded people -- singing, dancing, living out loud.

By opening the book with the Webster Hall event celebrating De La in 2023 (following the loss of Dave 'Trugoy the Dove' Jolicoeur from congestive heart failure) and then closing with the same even, the author bookends the entirety of the band's history and impact on the pages in between. In a true flashback-style, starting from the roots of De La Soul's formation, Moore then ends, again, at the disorganized and lively tribute -- poignant in the awareness of Dave's absence and the fact that he never got to celebrate the "release" of their music by a new label.

Finally, the epilog that Mr. Moore writes specifically to Dave, and to his mother (who passed six months later) and his Aunt Claudette -- people who shaped his life in so many positive ways, including a love of music and laughter, was a personal and heartfelt method of tying everything together and really driving home the purpose of the "High and Rising" book and the way these important players shaped the author into the person he has become. So glad I got an opportunity to read and review this one and I'm really looking forward to the audiobook version (which was not available by request on Net Galley earlier this year).

Dey Street Books provided an early galley for review.

I have been a fan of De La Soul from that very first album. As talked about in the book, I remember the time in 2014 when the band made all of their music to date available for free to download (I was one a many who added their digital offers to my own library that day). So, a biography of this important yet often forgotten hip-hop group was a must-read for me.

Moore does a very thorough job covering each of the De La albums, going into detail about the lyrics and production as well as filling in behind the scenes meanings and intentions. His sources for the band and their producers come from the public record (interviews and such). He also puts the records in context of the times when released, adding details about other hip-hop records that would have shared the same retail shelf space as the De La albums.

Since Moore did not speak directly to the band, the "personal" touchpoints of the book mostly come from the author's own insights: how the music made him feel, where he was in life when the albums came into it, etc. As an older reader with a wide curiosity of the human experience, this landed fine for me. Other readers might find the lack of first-hand memories from the group to be a point of lacking.

***A big thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this upcoming book***
De La Soul is truly a one of a kind group that had a huge impact on hip hop, music and popular culture in general. I always liked them but knew their music was special when my son requested that we download their song "Eye Know" because it was featured in the latest Ninja Turtles movie and played it non-stop after seeing it in theaters.

This is a beautifully written, heartfelt love letter to De La written by someone whose life was truly touched by their music. It is mostly written using the author's insights and personal experiences with the occasional direct quote pulled from past interviews with members of the group. It covers the group from its inception all the way up to present day. My only gripe is that the some of the praise that the author heaps onto the group is repetitive and drags on a bit. It did not take away from my experience and I highly recommend this book to all fans of De La, hip hop or just music in general!
**** 1/2 stars

I will be very honest. I never knew who De La Soul was. My father always played 90s rap around me when I was growing up but I never heard their songs. But it was nice to learn that their kind of group existed and their music and personalities was something that was able to coexist amongst the popular vulgar type of sounds that was out during their time. It just goes to show that you can do what makes you happy and not what's trending because you never know who is going to come across it. Representation is key and people need to see that there are people in the world who are just like them, regardless of their line of work.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of High & Rising by Marcus J. Moore.

I grew up in a Bay Area suburb full of affluent adults who were convinced by Tipper Gore that rap was a hateful, corrupting force. But when I was at a friend's and "Me Myself and I" music video was dominating Yo MTV Raps - all my pre-teen self felt through that television screen was pure joy.

The author of High & Rising does a wonderful job of capturing that feeling. De La Soul took scraps and loops of sampled music, sewed them together in an epic quilt, and laid lyrics on top that were by turns funny, outrageous, silly, sarcastic, and solemn. Now that life has been dramatically improved with the availability of Three Feet High & Rising on streaming platforms, I had to read Moore's book to get a deeper understanding of the group.

Moore does his level best here but the work suffers from little-to-no input from members of De La Soul. My impression is that the three members of the group, along with legendary producer Prince Paul, didn't want to go on the record. So Moore has to veer into some creative flights of fancy and elaborate musings on the importance of De La Soul, what their music has meant to generations of hip hop heads, and how they've influenced The Culture.

Ultimately, a decent read and informative on the topic but lacks insight into the inner psychology of the group.

In the past, there is an era where hip-hop really really viral. High and Rising is a stunning cultural biography of De La Soul, the era-defining hip-hop trio that touched millions of lives and changed rap forever.