Day After Day #100: Me Myself and I

Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).

Me Myself and I (1989)

It's always a momentous year right before the move into a new decade, but 1989 was an interesting year for music as well. Just as alternative rock was moving more into the mainstream, hip hop was evolving, too. Gangsta rap was emerging with NWA and Ice-T, political rap was in the forefront with Public Enemy and party rap remained strong with new voices like Digital Underground. There was also a move to a more positive sound, which was led by De La Soul.

A trio out of Long Island, De La Soul was formed in high school by Kelvin "Posdunos" Mercer, David "Trugoy the Dove" Jolicoeur and Vincent "Maseo" Mason. They used a ton of interesting samples; in addition to James Brown and George Clinton (who were sampled by everybody), De La Soul sampled songs by Hall and Oates, Johnny Cash, Steely Dan, Eric Burdon and War, Liberace, the Turtles, Steve Miller Band, Kraftwerk, Billy Joel, the Monkees and the Rascals. In fact, they used so many samples that their back catalog wasn't available for download or streaming until last year, when a deal was worked out over the sample royalties.

They rapped about peace and positivity, which led some to call them hippies, which they pushed back on. De La Soul often rapped about D.A.I.S.Y, which stood for "Da Inner Sound, Y'all," and referred often to the Daisy Age. The group's first album, 3 Feet High and Rising, came out in February 1989 and was an immediate hit. 

De La Soul's sound and aesthetic was so original when it came out because they defied hip hop convention by avoiding tough guy poses and posturing, instead embracing wonder and weirdness. The album also introduced the concept of skits between songs, which has since become commonplace and somewhat annoying.

"Me Myself and I" was the fifth single released off 3 Feet High and Rising. The main sample came from Funkadelic's "(Not Just) Knee Deep," a 15-minute funk jam from 1979. 

"Mirror, mirror on the wall/Tell me, mirror, what is wrong?/Can it be my De La Clothes/Or is it just my De La Soul?/What I do ain't make believe/People say I sit and try/But when it comes to being De La/It's just me, myself and I."

De La Soul used the song to respond to being called the hippies of hip hop, noting that they weren't just a gimmick.

"Now you tease my Plug One style/And my Plug One spectacles/You say Plug One and Two are hippies/No we're not, that's pure plug bull/Always pushing that we formed an image/There's no need to lie/When it comes to being Plug One/It's just me, myself and I."

The song went to #34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Dance Club Songs, Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs and Hot Rap Songs charts. It also went to #1 in the Netherlands, where a TV station had made a documentary about the group when they were unknowns.

The album also spawned hits with "Say No Go" and "The Magic Number." Critics also lauded the album, which placed on numerous best-of lists for the year and for all time. De La Soul has had a successful career, collaborating with Mos Def, Gorillaz, Yo La Tengo and many others. 

Sadley, Trugoy the Dove died in 2023, just before the release of all of De La Soul's music on streaming services. The surviving members have continued to tour, opening for Wu-Tang Clan and Nas last fall.