Over the course of their almost 30 year career De La Soul has changed and evolved along with its members, but even as they've changed mind states, died and then risen to match new heights, they've been astoundingly consistent in one regard - following their own creative vision without compromise.
In many ways their new album, And the Anonymous Nobody, is their most daring yet. First, they funded it completely independently through a Kickstarter campaign that raised more than $500K from devoted fans and supporters, completely circumnavigating the traditional label structure.
And then second, they recorded it by inviting a vast array of musicians into their studio, recording hundreds of hours of instrumental music, building a massive sound library in the process that they could pull from without having to deal with an often complex and arduous sample clearance process.
It was simultaneously a hyper collaborative and hyper independent way to create an album, and now we get to watch that unique process in action thanks to their new documentary, We're Still Here (Now).
“We’re standing together to do something, to bring change. We feel like that’s the thread that’s run throughout the process, coming together to put egos aside, with fans, backers who came together, they’re not trying to be known. they’re trying to be a part of this growing organism that’s trying to form creative music. I hope it continues, and I’m sure it will.”
Watch the "We're Still Here (Now)" documentary above and/or via the Now app, and fans can grab De La's brand new And the Anonymous Nobody album here, along with a vinyl edition of the album, coming soon.
And if you need even more De La in your life, check out more of their boundary-breaking catalog via BitTorrent Now. Enjoy, and long live the anonymous nobodies.