3 Feet High and Rising

This De La Soul original print is the result of a meticulous reworking of the original photography for the 3 Feet High and Rising LP sleeve, alongside the original sketched proposal made by the Grey Organisation to Tommy Boy Records.

The spirit of the cover art design is revived in glorious day-glo and the result is an artist print that transports us back to the Daisy Age with one glance.

The print, just like the original artwork, is the product of a two stage process worked on by the artist along with two different print-makers: the faces of Plug 1, 2 and 3 were printed in archival inkjet to achieved a clean b&w photographic image, over which the cartoon-like illustration has been hand-pulled.

We knew we needed to capture the day-glo spirit of the original design but fluorescent inks simply aren’t available for inkjet so we turned to Lynne at Hippo Screenprinters in Essex who was the perfect match for this project. She produced the most outstanding edition from Toby Mott’s artwork; the hand pulled printing mirrors the feel of the cover design and more to the point, of that original sketch submitted to Tommy Boy records by the Grey Organisation.

Each print has been embossed with the official stamp of the Grey Organisation.

NEW YORK CITY, HIP HOP IN THE DAISY AGE, SUMMER 1989

Over 30 years after its release, 3 Feet High and Rising remains one of the most feted albums in the hip hop canon. This unique LP emerged in 1989 amidst the burgeoning US hip-hop scene.

While most now forgotten groups took the cookie-cutter approach to hip-hop, replicating the style, lyrics and golden chained aesthetics of the era, De La Soul’s daisy aged record broke the mould. 3 Feet High and Rising became New York’s unofficial soundtrack, it’s bouncing beats and positive vibes match the city’s late 80’s early 90’s vibrancy. Today the record is still spinning, having stood the test of time. Its unique aesthetic approach to the formation of hip hop is represented both in its sounds and its unforgettable album artwork.