De La Soul’s debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, is a landmark record. Its eclectic sampling, jazz-soul-funk laced grooves, humour and laid-back rhyme style were, in 1989, a radical departure from the increasingly homogeneous and aggressive sounds of the hip-hop mainstream. The album is an implicit manifesto for an innovative and positive kind of rap, what De La called a DA.IS.Y. age (Da Inner Sound, Y'all). But the moment passed it seems, along with their mainstream commercial success, and though their broad influence is undeniable it is little known.

“Got to have soul” insists the intro to ‘The Magic Number,’ and here’s the key to their music. What you get from De La Soul is a passion for invention, originality and plain-good beats. You won’t hear rhymes about superior skills on the mic or violent retribution for a perturbed ego. Instead there’s something meaningful, a little philosophical even, in each melodic spin of phrase. But all important is that the Long Islanders, three old school friends, never take themselves too seriously.

Playing live, De La Soul have a huge back catalogue packed with hits and memorable lesser-knowns ('Eye Know,' 'A Roller Skating Jam Named "Saturdays"', 'Keepin’ the Faith'), which is combined with an expert knowledge of how to show people a good time. Ninety minutes on stage is sure to pass far too quickly.