The Daily Grind

De La Soul are set to release their 8th CD, The Grind Date, on October 5. In other news, the band has also been busy designing a new limited edition shoe with Nike called the ‘De La Dunk’ that is due to arrive in stores in the fall. Lot's more on the album can be found below.

The Grind Date is about how everyone today grinds to reach their destiny. The idea for the title came to Pos as he watched MTV. “I was watching ‘Making the Band’ and Puff was sending Babs on a blind date,” Pos remembers. “He was like ‘Yo, we gotta just do what we gotta do to get this album poppin’. Somebody mentioned being on a grind, and from that we thought of the title being The Grind Date.”

The CD is filled with thought-provoking songs: “Shopping Bags” takes a look at how men put themselves out there in the world of dating. Pos explains, “It deals with how certain types of men go out of their way to impress women with money and materialistic things just to be with her but oftentimes gets nothing in return.” “Church” -- which enlists Spike Lee in the intro to give listeners a wake-up call like no one else can -- is a “Stakes is High” type of song that talks to people about getting their lives together. “It’s Like” talks about taking the time out to really think about things we overlook to realize how important they are. It in particular identifies with hip hop to ensure people realize that hip hop is more than a paycheck. Dave reiterates, “There wouldn’t be Escalade trucks if it wasn’t for hip hop!”

Guest appearances on The Grind Date include film-maker Spike Lee, the great storyteller Bonz Malone (Slam), Bad Boy Carl Thomas, De La Soul staple Yummi, Common, MF Doom, Sean Paul, Butta Verses (signed to Maseo’s label Bear Mountain Entertainment) and Wutang member Ghostface, while production work is done by producers such as JayDee of Slum Village, Dave West, Madlib, and Jake1.

When De La Soul entered the rhyme scene they were at the forefront of conscious rap, offering an alternative to braggadocio and gangsta rap. Using elliptical rhymes, the group gave a more creative vibe to hip-hop. Dave wraps up who De La Soul is in a nutshell: “The most important thing to us is respect. We’ve never compromised ourselves or our artistic point of view and we as people are just everyday people. You are never going to see us doing anything other that what we do. Being Dave, Pos, or Mace.”