Prince Paul got his start as a teenage DJ spinning for Stetsasonic and went on to form the legendary trio De La Soul. Their seminal debut 3 Feet High and Rising redefined the possibilities of sampling and their innovative use of skits—as a way of providing comic relief and establishing a cohesive theme throughout an album—made a profound impact on hip-hop. But Prince Paul was just getting started.
In part one of his epic Complex interview, Prince Paul took us from the Stetsasonic era through the founding of De La Soul and their classic sophomore album, De La Soul is Dead. But there’s a whole lot more to the story, from Gravediggaz to the Handsome Boy Modelling School.
A master of concept albums, Paul continues to build projects that allow him to express his restless creative vision. (He's spent much of the past year criss-crossing America with Scion A/V as part of the documentary series “Prince Paul’s Amazing Musical Journey”, which has allowed him to stay plugged in to the current music landscape.) In this second part of his Complex confessions, the rap legend talks about how he met RZA and sat in on the early Wu Tang sessions, he tells which industry heavyweights turned their backs on him when times were hard, and he reveals the one thing that could make him give up hip-hop for good.
As told to Jaeki Cho (@JaekiCho)