At first glance you may ask why De La Soul and Sprite? At second glance the answer should be, why not? Both are innovators in their industries that have experienced longevity. Both De La Soul and Sprite continue to improve their games by remaining relevant and cutting-edge cultural taste makers.

De La Soul, the chart-topping trio best known for its jazz, funk and soul-infused hip hop, recently celebrated the 20th year of the group’s debut album “3 Feet High and Rising” in Chicago by performing a mini concert at the River East Art Center sponsored by Sprite. The company, in turn, used the venue to announce its latest product, Sprite Green.

Here, Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) and David Jolicoeur (Trugoy the Dove) discuss their collaboration with Sprite and what it means to still be in the industry 20 years later.

ICC: De La Soul is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the group’s first album. How have you grown over the last 20 years and what can fans expect in the near future?

DLS: (Dave) Our careers have more or less trailed our becoming men. We started recording when we were fresh out of high school. The early stages were a learning period; just as much as they are now. Early on, recording was fresh and something we loved and enjoyed. Throughout the years we’ve had the opportunity to continue recording music and use music to talk about what is going on in our lives and provide a different aspect that some artists don’t. A lot of artists talk about what they’ve been through and the struggles, what have you. We talk about life instances.

If you listen to our records, you will hear about who we were and are since we were 17 up to now at 40. That’s what our music is about, De La the personal side. We speak on social issues, but the music is really a timeline of our lives, as well. Today, it’s the same thing. We’re not afraid of who we are…some of us are married.

ICC: That’s been obvious in your music all along. The group has never been afraid to show personal creativity.

DLS: (Dave) Yeah, we think that’s important. When people get into artists, they want to know who they are and get a glimpse behind the scene. If you can get that on a record, that’s the best reward to a fan. First it was always life, whether it was something people laugh at you about, or admire you for. It was important that we let people know who we are.

ICC: You mentioned starting at 17, and at that age the business aspect of the industry isn’t important. When did business become a part of the act?

DLS: (Posdnuos) Funny enough, we thought we always sort of knew what we were doing. We were definitely in-tune to what we needed to do creatively. With Prince Paul who helped produce the records, we wanted to know what was going on. So it wasn’t like we didn’t want to be involved with the record company. But obviously for us to have never seen any big money, the little money they offered was good. (Laughing).

We were always open to learn. So when we started going around people like Russell Simmons and other people at our label, we did pay attention and learned a lot, which included not only focusing on the creative side.

ICC: That homework eventually led the group to creating your own label?

DLS: (Dave) Yeah, our last venture was with Sanctuary Music, ran by Matthew Knowles, Beyonce’s dad. After that fizzled out, we decided it was time to give ourselves a shot. A challenge is a challenge for us. Sometimes it’s a little scary taking your own interests into a challenge. It has been good to us so far. For the last five years, it’s been us running our careers and making the decisions. These have been the happiest years of our careers so far.

ICC: De La Soul hit the scene around the same time gangsta rap was at its plateau. How were you able to come out so strong and not think about what was already in heavy rotation?

DLS: (Dave) I think there are different types of people, different types of listeners. As much as there are people who want to listen to gangsta rap, or what have you, there are folks who don’t even want to hear that. Pardon my shameless plug, (laughing) just like there are people who enjoy Coke, there are others who want to check out Sprite. That’s the thing, if you believe that’s all that’s out there, you don’t challenge yourself and you don’t challenge the idea that there are other listeners. You get stuck in a zone and basically fail. We always thought there has to be other people who think like us. Regardless of the fact that KRS-One and N.W.A. were big, we decided to talk about things like washing dishes…and it worked. We felt there are everyday people everywhere. If we could share some of the things that are common to others, we knew someone would listen, someone would make the purchase, someone would respond.

ICC: The music industry likes to put artists in a box. De La Soul’s first album, “3 Feet and Rising” which we’re celebrating, is reportedly the group’s most commercially successful. How were you able to continue to make good music over the past 20 years and not get stuck in a box?

DLS: (Posdnuos) I think it was an innocence we had with the first album. It wasn’t our intent to try to sell a lot of albums. We just did, at that time, what we thought was the best. A lot of people around us invested their time into the album. It was something new, refreshing and something they felt related to them. And, we held on to that feeling even if the next album didn’t sell as much. We never said, well maybe we should implement a club record or this record or that. We just made music that felt good for us. Then we left it in the hands of the company to decide which would be the best record for a particular album. A song is going to do what it does. Listeners are going to be who they are. But we as DeLaSoul will remain true to who we are. Hopefully with the product we make, we will present what we feel will draw people in.

ICC: Talk about the latest album.

DLS: (Dave) The title is “Are You In” and it’s a collaboration we did for Nike. It’s very unconventional. The album itself isn’t too far with what we normally do and that’s to have a cohesive album, rather than a bunch of songs. Nike came to us with the idea of having an album that consisted of music for a runner. The first song is to get a runner motivated, the next song may go a little faster, the next may slow down. We had to make what we considered DeLa music fit in the right places throughout a 45 minute run. It was very challenging.

ICC: Was it unusual for Nike to search you out for this type of project?

DLS: (Posdnuos) We actually worked with Nike before. In the beginning, we collaborated with the company to produce two versions of Nike Dunk. From that point, our reputation grew internally and when certain projects came up, our name came up. We’ve participated in Nike marathons and performed at different events. That led us to create the current album.

ICC: What’s the connection with Sprite and DeLaSoul?

DLS: (Dave) For us, we have always been interested in partnering with entities that do new things. And, Sprite is an example of a company that tries to stay cutting edge; that’s our belief as well. I think as much as you can do things, if it’s not across the board, fresh, new, then it’s just the same as anything else. When we get the phone calls and have the opportunities to pair with these entities, we jump at it. It’s not like we’re getting a lifetime supply of Sprite or anything like that (laughing), but for us to come together with folks who are doing impressive things, we’re all up for it.

(Posdnuos) The collaboration also shows, even for us, that it’s not about Sprite going with this rapper on the billboard charts. They know what’s true and they know that DeLa still tries to deliver quality music.

(Dave) Plus, with this particular product, I’m trying to watch my weight. (Lauging) I want to drink soda and Sprite Green is cool, I would purchase it. To be down with something that is real as well as something you really would have as part of your life, that’s cool with us too.

ICC: 20 years later, you have a new crop of fans. How does that feel?

DLS: (Posdnuos) We have been blessed to continue to go out on the road. It’s amazing to see young, new kids at the concerts. Then, we still see fans we can recognize from maybe a show from the previous year, or 10 years ago. Also, we’ve been blessed to pair up with different people to do different songs and this keeps us moving ahead. I think people appreciate that, regardless of the age. For instance, the song we did with the Gorillaz…..

(Dave) It’s also strategic. You do things because organically it happens. But we do definitely make choices and say, well DeLa you’ve been doing this type of thing for three or four years, what can take you further? As Pos said, doing songs like “Feel Good” with the Gorillaz opened a bigger door. Doing songs with Teenage Fan Club, or doing an ad with Levi or Apple, or something with Sprite, opened even more doors. You can be artistic, but you have to be business minded, as well. You have to approach all opportunities strategically. I would hate to sit here and say we’re just doing it. You have to sit down and plan and strategically pinpoint what it is you want to do.

ICC: I know you’re in town on business, but have you ever traveled to Chi and been able to relax?

DLS: (Dave) We’ve been coming back since ‘89. We come in to hang with Common. We’ve always looked to Chicago as home.