De La Soul Break Down "Buddy" & Come Clean On Native Tongue Tensions
Back in 1989, the full force of the daisy age was realized on “Buddy”; a boom-clap dosed number that wrangled all of The Native Tongues onto one choice backpacker’s delight, following the blueprint of posse cuts like "The Symphony." The crew consisted of De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers and A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love and Queen Latifah, with Black Sheep as part-timers. "Buddy" gave the distinct impression of cultural upheaval and community amongst like-minded east coast hip-hoppers at a time when we needed it most. But, according to a new interview of De La on Vlad TV, living under the Native Tongues umbrella wasn’t all daisies. The trio details a strained relationship with their camp, how words were written (citing "I Am, I Be" here) that reflected how they were feeling at the very moments of contention and that they should probably be taken as just that. The fellas don't necessarily distance themselves from the perceived collectivization of The Native Tongues movement, though they do claim that there weren't all too many collaborations (and that's more true than not). But wherever you stand, I think we can all agree that we owe a debt of gratitude for the pieces coming together in any shape or form, as the crew's cornerstone sentiments of knowledge and self-love are still as important as ever to the culture and have given rise to some of today's most cherished MCs. Watch as De La Soul breaks down "Buddy" and comes clean on The Native Tongue tensions below.
