De La Soul Producer Prince Paul on Trugoy’s Passing, Preserving Mistakes on ‘3 Feet High and Rising,’ and the Group’s Legacy
Jem Aswad Senior Music Editor Pioneering hip-hop producer Prince Paul was never officially a member of De La Soul — but “The Magic Number” was always four whenever they worked together. As ambitious and creative as group members Posdnuous (Kelvin Mercer), Trugoy (the late Dave Jolicoeur) and Maseo (Vincent Mason Jr.) were, the man born Paul Huston was the glue that held it all together musically through many of the group’s biggest successes. “I think the way the dynamic changed because of me is I’m pro-everything,” Huston tells Variety. “If somebody’s considering an idea, I’m like, ‘Let’s do it!’” That fearless, kitchen-sink spirit led to “3 Feet High and Rising,” “De La Soul is Dead” and “Buhloone Mindstate,” three albums that caused three different generational shifts — for the group, their fans and often hip-hop culture. And those albums (and three others) were celebrated last week at “The D.A.I.S.Y. Experience” event in New York, where Huston, along with Posdnuous, Maseo, Dave Chapelle, Queen Latifah, Q-Tip, Common, Chuck D and many others, to commemorated the group’s music finally being released onto streaming platforms after decades-long legal entanglements.