<body><![CDATA[The Sanctuary label has mastered the knack of finding artists with an impressive back catalogue, but who have fallen out of favour recently, and slapping them back in the spotlight (MorrisseyΓÇÖs return to critical favour and commercial success was a typical example). Now Sanctuary has set up an urban division to do the same with hip-hop and funk acts. Few could be more deserving of this treatment than De La Soul, one of the most genuinely innovative hip-hop outfits. The Grind Date offers a harder sound than you might expect if you know only their early work, but the sweet hooks on Much More, the filtered intro to Shopping Bags (SheΓÇÖs Got from You), the hypnotic descending chords on ItΓÇÖs Like that, and the fact that theyΓÇÖre rapping about the virtues of hard work, not the lure of easy money, all serve to illustrate that De La Soul are still one of the genreΓÇÖs most original acts.Click <a href="asfunction:Tardis.webPageOpen,http://www.spitkickers.com/delasoul"><b>here</b></a> to visit the De La Soul page at the SpitKicker hip-hop website.]]></body>
