I got wind of High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul online - but in a way that was unexpected, and which I would soon come to learn, a little unfair. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that a book about one of the Hip-Hop groups I adore was on the horizon. But the group’s reaction to this book by Marcus J. Moore last November before its release, kind of took the wind out of my sails initially. (More on that later.) It was a bit of good fortune that the research circle I’m currently part of had snagged tickets to a book talk between Moore and esteemed Hip-Hop educator, researcher, and author Dr. Christopher Emdin last month. So, I made my way to the Schomburg Center in Harlem and took in the very illuminating conversation.
HIgh and Rising is indeed like the title says, a book about De La Soul. But it’s also a book that covers Moore’s growing up with the group’s music, tinged with reflections on grief. It’s something that resonated with me the moment I began to read it, as the prologue opens at Webster Hall on March 2, 2023. That was the night that De La Soul was holding a live concert event to celebrate that finally, FINALLY, their entire discography would be available on streaming platforms. But that night would have its bittersweet tone, as David “Trugoy The Dove” Jolicoeur wasn’t there, having passed away at the age of 54 the month before shaking the entire Hip-Hop world. And adding another layer of grief to my own, as I was freshly in the throes of grieving my mother who had passed away in December. Moore’s opening that way sets the stage for the reader that this is a space where you can sink into all of the feels because, well, it’s necessary:
“The grief can cripple and render you helpless. It can arise through the strum of a guitar, in the thud of a piano chord. These things can trigger the past - the blessed visions and the dour ones - and the only thing you can do is lean into the emotion.”
From there, Moore gives the reader a strong pathway to learning about De La Soul as only a seasoned music journalist can. What I appreciate is that throughout, he doesn’t shy away from making nuanced observations about the group to the point of offering critiques. There’s one section where he brings up “De La Orgee”, and I have to admit, that is a track that I still skip whenever I listen to Three Feet High and Rising because it is EXTRA. It fits the entire vibe of the album, but it’s still extra.
That aside, the history of the group’s evolution is invaluable here as Moore peppers the book with numerous quotes, anecdotes, and interviews from group members as well as peers and those working with them. He also makes it a point to display the opinions of music critics along the way, some of them not flattering. I also appreciate Moore’s writing about grief and about observing how the music that we love can be freeing if we look at every aspect of it as it relates to our own experience. To me, reading those moments carried a lot of weight being someone in their 40s having those same reflections and dealing with their own wellspring of loss.
High and Rising didn’t get the De La seal of approval, as I mentioned earlier. Maseo and Posdunous put out a post through social media where they stated that they regarded it as “an unauthorized book,” going on to say that they were “exploring all of our legal options.” On one hand, I can understand the raw feelings a book like this can present to a group that had to spend decades fighting to preserve their legacy and everything stemming from it. But it seems harsh to take this kind of stance given how Moore has taken pains to express that the book is a “cultural biography with critical analysis.” Could it be that Moore’s critiques might’ve rubbed them the wrong way if they’ve had a chance to read it? Maybe. I don’t want to think of De La Soul in a bad light. But I also feel that Moore is being looked at unfairly here. In any event, High and Rising is a good pickup for anyone who loves reading about music and appreciates a nuanced and thoughtful coming-of-age memoir.