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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
As told to Dave Simpson

De La Soul on their belated streaming debut: ‘It felt like we were being erased from history’

(From left) Vincent Mason, AKA Maseo; Kelvin Mercer, AKA Posdnuos; and David Jolicoeur, AKA Trugoy the Dove, who died earlier this month
‘Every piece of work we’ve ever done has a special place in my heart’ … (from left) Maseo, Posdnuos and Trugoy the Dove, who died earlier this month. Photograph: Robert Adam Mayer

You were one of the first non-guitar headline acts at Glastonbury [in 1990]. Was the crowd ready for you? JulestheRun
Kelvin Mercer, AKA Posdnuos: I didn’t really know that, but we were pulled into a world that was already at superstar status. We were learning on the job. The first tour we ever did was with LL Cool J, NWA, Slick Rick and Public Enemy. When we got to Glastonbury, I don’t think we were used to the size of the place and we didn’t know the weight of the name, but people seemed to love us.

What’s the story behind the laughter at the beginning of [Gorillaz’s] Feel Good Inc? VerulamiumParkRanger
Vincent Mason, AKA Maseo: My laugh was always considered pretty infectious. I did it on U Don’t Wanna BDS and it worked. One night, I laughed through the whole song and he [Posdnuos] was like: “He just comes out and laughs and gets a standing ovation.” When we did the Gorillaz record, Damon [Albarn] whispered the rhyme in my ear and I knew exactly where he wanted me to laugh.

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