3 Feet High And Rising  by De La Soul

The country song "Five Feet High And Rising" by Johnny Cash from 1959 came thirty years later to inspire the hip hop group De La Soul and name their debut "3 Feet High And Rising," which was released in early 1989.

The success of the New York trio was immediate and significant. The album offered a different sound and, in general, a different approach from what had prevailed in the New York hip hop scene until then. A dominant feature of the lyrics is the humor through which De La Soul addresses the ills of their city, as well as those of the times. Also, another strong point of the album is all those highly fitting samples that fall here and there in all the songs. The cover has also become one of the most iconic album covers. De La Soul and Toby Mott had the idea to draw inspiration for the setup and theme of the cover from the song "D.A.I.S.Y. Age."

"3 Feet High And Rising," with its progressive and jazz rap, as well as the success of the single "Me Myself And I," impressed and made De La Soul known beyond hip hop music circles. In the United Kingdom, the album reached No. 13, while in their homeland it went up to No. 24.