Jenny Lewis

The indie-rock showbiz vet salutes De La Soul’s 3 Feet High And Rising (Tommy Boy, 1989).

I was 13, living in San Fernando Valley. I’d heard the Me Myself And I single, and I bought the cassette of 3 Feet High And Rising the week it came out at the local Sam Goody on Van Nuys Boulevard.

Just from the opening bars, I was just in love with it. In my room I had a little pink tape player, and I’d listen to the cassette over and over and look at the artwork, and it completely changed me. It made me want to be a poet, and introduced me to so many artists through the samples. The first time I heard George Clinton, Steely Dan, The Animals, Johnny Cash, all of those moments came through this record. There’s a French sample which prepped me for getting into Serge Gainsbourg years later! I learned a lot about jazz and R&B, it was colourful, it was sexual, it was just the perfect coming-of-age record – be yourself, be positive, listen to old records, don’t conform. It was very rebellious, yet really positive. And there’s a song on the record called Jenifa Taught Me, which was, of course, myself, so I found myself in the music as well.

It just felt so cool to be a part of the [De La philosophy] Daisy Age cult. I started wearing bell bottoms and daisies in my hair, I had a kind of slinky strut suddenly. I started recording on my pink boombox with a little Casio drum machine, writing verses and recording them. I feel like it kind of made me a hipster, like I’d found the music that was made for me at that age.

It’s sad with the passing of Dave [AKA Trugoy, who passed away in February], but now people can finally hear De La Soul’s records on streaming platforms, which they couldn’t for years. I feel like two or three generations have missed out on growing up with De La Soul, which I was fortunate to do. It still sounds great. It’s like the Proustian sniff test – put it on and you’re 13 years old again.

Joy’All is out on Blue Note/EMI on June 9.