After nearly 25 years in the business, De La Soul are still going strong – but the mainstream has its drawbacks, as founding member Posdnuos tells TONY CLAYTON-LEA

De La Soul have been around for almost 25 years – that’s a very long time for a hip-hop act to still be productive, isn’t it?

It’s actually gone by so fast, and because of that it seems a short amount of time. It’s difficult to take it in. It seems like yesterday that we got signed to a record label. But it’s a blessing, man, because when we look back on those times, we realise that a lot of groups broke up and a lot of bands have had negative memories and stories to tell you about the business. With us, yes, we’ve had our ups and downs, but overall it’s been a great time.

That’s unusual, isn’t it? Would you regard De La Soul as being lucky?

Not really. Sometimes it feels that it’s all about how you look at things. It’s easy to always look at the negatives; it’s easy to always feel like the record label and the music business is out to make as much money from you as possible. There has to be positives out of everything; it makes sense to me that positivity breeds positivity. That has certainly applied to De La Soul, and is, I think, one of the main reasons why people want to work with us. The work, the creative environment, is usually chilled, there isn’t a lot of drama, we don’t arrive at the studio with bodyguards and craziness; we arrive with coolness. We’ve been blessed enough in that regard for people to want to enjoy that, and to work with us regardless of whether or not we have an album out. They know that we put quality in our work as well as quality in the friendships we build with people.

What aims and ambitions did De La Soul have when you first started?

Our biggest thing was something as simple as hearing our music on the radio. Growing up as fans of radio music and hearing people like Run DMC, Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Rakim and Big Daddy Kane made us want to have the same thing. And we did.

What was it like when you first heard your music on the radio?

Oh, it was surreal. It's not so that you'd pinch yourself, but the realisation that something might be really starting for you kicked in. Hearing DJs whose opinions you respect playing your songs and saying how great they are – man, it's a gorgeous feeling. And you have to remember that back in those days there were only allotted hours available for hip-hop music to be played – usually at night time. But a song such as Me, Myself and Iwas starting to get played during the day, and then presenters started playing other songs, non-single tracks. We just couldn't believe that. Singles yes, but album tracks? Whoah!

Now, hip-hop is part of the cultural fabric and soundtrack; in the early-to-mid 1980s it was so much less than that

It was certainly more alien to people when we were younger, that’s for sure. The gradual acceptance of it proved to me and my peers what we inherently knew – that the music would eventually become a part of contemporary culture, that it would be considered more than just a genre, and that it would be respected by listeners and record companies. That’s where it is now. It’s definitely big business, it’s worked its way into the economy, and it’s also brought different tribes together. We knew that back then. Now it’s mainstream and a mainstay.

There are drawbacks to that, though, aren’t there?

Yes, the main downfall is how creativity has been affected. There is much, for instance, that is dictating how the marketing is going to be applied; and factors such as clothing lines, movies, acting and so on. In the long run that isn’t a good thing, because the craft is being diluted.

Has a certain purity disappeared?

Certainly, but that’s natural. There is a lessening of impact from something you see for the first time and love, to when you see something for the 100th time and like. The purity may not be there, but what you hope is that the goodness and quality remains. What I felt in terms of listening to artists that rocked and changed my world, that shaped my understanding of it in terms of how to make music – well, sir, that hasn’t happened in quite some time. In fact, I can’t recall when that last happened to me.

De La Soul play Dublin’s Button Factory on Friday, July 22, and Galway’s Festival Big Top on Saturday, July 23 (as part of the Galway Arts Festival)