Neither a joint song nor a known personal dispute connected them with Tupac. Posdnuos, Trugoy and Maseo from Amityville on Long Island stood for the exact opposite of gangsta rap. Their debut 3 Feet High and Rising (1989) was playful, colorful and packed with samples; the press called them the “hippies of hip-hop.” Nevertheless, De La Soul found themselves on Tupac’s list of targets in 1996.
Target on the Makaveli Album
During the recording sessions for the Makaveli album in the summer of 1996, Tupac explicitly named De La Soul. In Against All Odds, the group joins a long list of targets, right alongside Nas, Mobb Deep, Dr. Dre and Puff Daddy. The then-shelved song Watch Ya Mouth, which later surfaced on the internet, also attacks De La Soul.
A Mocking Aside Without Cause
The sources do not cite a specific cause. In his final months, Tupac lashed out at numerous New York artists whom he associated with Bad Boy or with criticism of the West Coast. In Against All Odds, Kool G Rap was hit as well, for example. De La Soul only come up there in a mocking aside. A public response from the trio is not known.
Wide-Ranging Attacks
The conflict is listed here because it is one of the documented feuds from Tupac’s last year of life, and shows how broadly his sweeping attacks were aimed in 1996. The group had little to do with “East vs. West” in the narrower sense (more under East vs. West). Trugoy (David Jolicoeur) died in February 2023.