The song's number one position in The Netherlands was spurred by the VPRO television station, who made a documentary about De La Soul after meeting them when they were still unknown.[3]
Background and composition
De La Soul member Posdnuos stated: "The words were written pretty quick. [...] The press was referring to us as the hippies of hip-hop. This song became a way to express that this wasn't a gimmick, and that we were being ourselves. This is why in my first verse I say, 'You say Plug 1 & 2 are hippies, no we're not, that's pure plug bull.'"[4]
Prince Paul and Maseo sat down and came up with the idea of sampling Funkadelic's song "(Not Just) Knee Deep" for the beat of "Me Myself and I". When they played the beat to Posdnuos and Trugoy the Dove, they did not like it because the group was anti-radio and anti-establishment, but went ahead and reluctantly recorded their vocals over the beat.[5]
Critics have situated the track within 3 Feet High and Rising’s broader collage-sample aesthetic and playful, left-of-center stance that helped define alternative rap at the turn of the 1990s.[6]
Critical reception
Jerry Smith from Music Week wrote, "Hot dance band of the moment, De La Soul issue this engagingly loping track from their much acclaimed album, 3 Feet High and Rising. And its strong beat and rhythmic rap is sure to take it high chartwards."[7]
Music video
The video, directed by Charles Stone III, stages the group in a satirical classroom where a disciplinarian teacher pushes rap clichés that De La Soul rejects, underscoring the song’s theme of individuality. It includes cameos by A Tribe Called Quest’s Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad.[8]
↑ Smith, Jerry (April 8, 1989). "Singles"(PDF). Music Week. p.21. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
↑ Role’, How Jordan Peele’s New Horror Film ‘Him’ Gave Julia Fox Her ‘Dream; Stella Donnelly Announces Album Tour, Shares New Single; Sideways, SpongeBob SquarePants Cooking Meth and Fake JFK Speeches: How the Sora 2 Launch Went (2023-08-14). "De La Soul, 'Me Myself and I'". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 2025-10-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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