I stan HARD for De La Soul.

Pos, Mase and Dave were at the head of the table during hip-hop’s most creative period, and they’ve hardly lost a beat in the two decades since. Although their commercial success has been intermittent, the quality of their music hasn’t wavered. 2004’s “The Grind Date” (the group’s last proper album) was a solid piece of work that was easily one of the five best hip-hop albums that year. Depending on when you ask, De La runs neck and neck with P.E. and Tribe for my personal title of Best Rap Group of all-time (and unlike P.E. and Tribe, they haven’t sullied their reputation by making half-assed or outright crappy albums).

Anyway, De La is previewing their upcoming release “You’re Welcome” with “The Return of D. ST.” This old-school styled track is a tribute to the legendary DJ referenced in the song title. For those of you unaware of who D. ST. is, he’s probably best known for providing the scratches on Herbie Hancock’s 1983 smash “Rockit”. Listening to Pos and Dave’s chemistry here, you’d never know that they’d been off the grid for six years (and I’ll temper that by saying they released a mixtape and a special one-off Nike-related project in that time period. They also received an award from VH-1 Hip Hop Honors and have toured the world PLEASECOMETOBOSTON relentlessly. Oh yeah, they also won a well-deserved Grammy for their collaboration with Gorillaz on “Feel Good, Inc.”

Anyway, check the track out. My appetite has been whetted. This album can’t come soon enough!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTxeEhJKnVQ