De La Soul has been a close collaborator with the Gorillaz since their appearance on their 2005 single “Feel Good Inc.” , but it turns out that they were originally supposed to do a completely different song. During the last episode of Kyle Meredith with…De La Soul co-founder Maceo revealed that Damon Albarn initially suggested they look different Cursed days Single: “Kids With Guns.”
“When we went to do ‘Feel Good Inc.’ the first song was Kids with Guns,” Maceo recalled. “When we were having a conversation about ‘kids with guns,’ I came out bluntly and said, ‘Hey man, I think we forced it. I said, ‘I don’t think this is the record. I think we don’t really collaborate, we just show up on the record. It’s like Gorillaz featuring De La. We really need to collaborate, where we both show our artistic taste. And sure, after a lot of weeding and tequila, said Feel Good Inc. came up with.”
Maseo added that late member Trugoy the Dove’s verse was a nod to Luke’s “I Wanna Rock (Doo Doo Brown)”. “Dave’s rhyme in the song is a parody of Luke Skywalker’s ‘Doo Doo Brown’,” he explains. “If you’re really listening, some of the rhythm and the rhyme pattern and some lines — ‘Don’t stop, get it, get it’ — that’s a bit of Luke Skywalker’s Doo Doo Brown.”
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“Kids with Guns” ended featuring Neneh Cherry and was released as a two-part single with “El Mañana”. Although the track became a hit in the UK, it didn’t nearly match the heights of “Feel Good Inc.” , which was a worldwide smash and remains one of Gorillaz’s most popular songs.
Elsewhere in the interview, Maseo reveals why De La Soul and Albarn have such good chemistry inside the studio. “It really is there for artistic value,” he says, before delving into their creative process, “and I have a lot of love for it.” “No idea is a bad idea until we give it a try—every ego is checked at the door. Everyone is doing their best to make a great song. People on songs hear like instruments. Technically everyone’s voice is an instrument, and that’s how the track sounds.”
Maseo also revealed that De La Soul has a deep personal relationship with Albarn outside of music. “We’re family with Damon,” he says. “I’ve spent time with his wife and kids right in his house. This is a relationship that the universe has put in our lap. I think that’s one of those many blessings that came from the hard work we put in and he demands and then eventually gets recruited into his family because he just feels like there’s an energy he’s part of.” Of which “.
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In the spirit of that “brotherhood,” Albarn mourned the loss of Trugoy the Dove by sharing an essential clip on Instagram. Gorillaz also honored the late rapper by sharing a photo with the caption, “Brother, we love you.”
Since the night of “Tequila and a Little Smoke” set the stage for one of the biggest hits of the 2000s, De La has appeared on a few other Gorillaz tracks: plastic beach Cut “Superfast Jellyfish” and “Momentz” from 2017 Humanand “Crocadillaz”, which appears on the deluxe edition of Gorillaz’s latest album, Cracker Island.
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Next for De La Soul is their next album, AOI 3, which “definitely happens,” Maceo tells Meredith. “It’ll be the next thing. That’s a responsibility we have to our fans – and it’s a responsibility we have even to ourselves – to complete that trilogy.”
