Aside from supporting and promoting independent record shops, part of the thrill of Record Store Day is in the chase. Hip-hop trio De La Soul are well aware of this, and have set a treasure hunt of their own, sneaking 100 vinyl copies of an instrumental version of their Smell The Da.I.S.Y mixtape into record stores.
Smell The Da.I.S.Y, which is free to download from De La Soul’s website, was released on 26 March this year in tribute to producer J Dilla whose death was a result of a combination of rare blood disease TTP and lupus.
Featuring unheard Dilla beats, De La Soul have produced physical copies of the instrumental tracks "to give people the experience of a J Dilla beat tape that we were so lucky to receive," they write on their website. "These beat tapes were the springboard that generated creation and generated inspiration for us".
The instrumental version will also include a bonus track of a never-before-heard J Dilla beat.
In a statement on their website De La Soul claim that fans will have to search well to find a copy, saying: "Dilla was a heavy crate digger that scoured the earth digging for exclusive vinyl to sample, and if you want this vinyl project you’ll have to dig the same."
For those who aren’t keen to trudge from record shop to record shop, five copies have been put up by the group on eBay. Clues have been left on their website, including a link to a list of vinyl record stores in New York, Chicago and LA.
The trio recently put their entire back catalogue up for free download for a limited time to mark their 25th anniversary, and are set to release their first album proper in 10 years, You’re Welcome, this summer.
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