Born on March 24: Maseo, legendary member of the group De La Soul

Maseo, also known by his real name, Vincent Mason Jr was born in 1970 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up on Long Island where he met the other members of the famous group De la Soul.

Maseo was raised by his mother, Dorothy Robinson, and his father, Vincent Mason, alongside his younger brother Anthony. He studied at Amityville Memorial High School, where he met the friends with whom he would make a mark on the hip-hop world a few years later.

In 1987, Maseo joined Kelvin Mercer and David Jude Jolicoeur to form De La Soul, a legendary group if there ever was one. Their career dreams took on a new dimension when Prince Paul, then a member of Stetsasonic, noticed them. He then put them in contact with the label Tommy Boy, with whom they produced "3 Feet High And Rising", their first album.

Mainly on the turntables, Maseo primarily plays the DJ within the group, although in some songs, he can be heard as a singer. He also recorded the iconic laugh at the start of the "Feel Good inc." track with Gorillaz.

Between 1989 and 2016, the group released nine studio albums and a live album. It took until 2023 for copyright issues to be resolved and for their discography to finally be available on streaming platforms. That same year, a tragic event occurred within the group, with the death of David Jude Jolicoeur.

Following this tragic event, the surviving members of the group, as well as other artists, came together for "The DA.ISY Experience", a tribute concert to their late friend and colleague, on March 2, the day before the digital release of De La Soul's music.

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the release of their first album, Maseo and Posdnuos made an appearance in Europe, specifically at the Rockhal in Luxembourg. Despite the loss of their friend, the two remaining members of the group continue to make music, to honour the memory of their companion. In a world where hip-hop has, for some, become a matter of statistics, it's more important than ever for Maseo to maintain and perpetuate the spirit that has governed his life since the '80s.

(MH with Larisa Lungu - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: In tribute, Maseo gives way in this article to David "Trugy The Dov" Jolicoeur with this photo taken at the Dour Festival (Belgium) in July 1987