De La Soul's debut arrived like a kaleidoscopic prank on hip hop's austere late-eighties landscape, with Prince Paul orchestrating a sample collage that pulled from Johnny Cash to French instructional records. The trio's conversational flows and psychedelic game show skits suggested rap could be playful without sacrificing intelligence, spawning both the Native Tongues movement and lawsuits that would reshape sampling law forever.

Me Myself and I became an unlikely hit, but the album's real triumph was proving hip hop's palette extended far beyond breakbeats and braggadocio.