De La Soul honors MF DOOM and Trugoy the Dove with a completely animated “Rock Co.Kane Flow” video celebrating the twentieth anniversary of “The Grind Date.”

De La Soul resurrected a Hip-Hop basic and two fallen legends Thursday (July 3) with the animated launch of “Rock Co.Kane Flow,” their 2004 collaboration with MF DOOM, as a part of the twentieth anniversary reissue of The Grind Date.

The video, which dropped alongside the re-release, reimagines the group—together with the late Trugoy the Dove—and DOOM as superhero-style wrestlers in a completely animated world. Director Elliot Hutchings mentioned the staff averted synthetic intelligence and deepfake know-how, opting as a substitute for hand-crafted animation to honor the unique period.

“With this project, we knew we wanted to create something special,” Hutchings mentioned. “Posdnuos had a transparent imaginative and prescient of the vibe and comedic tone of the video, trying to recreate the group’s look throughout The Grind Date’s launch again in 2004 (with a wrestling superhero twist).

“We knew we didn’t want to go down the road of AI and Deepfaking, instead opting to create fully animated versions of all the characters, no small undertaking. We took influence from various superhero films and media, and drew upon hours of classic wrestling footage for reference. After months of animating, rendering and complex Visual effects work, we were finally able to bring De La Soul and MF DOOM to the big screen just as they were in 2004.”

The unique Grind Date album dropped in 2004 and featured a lineup of heavyweights, together with Ghostface Killah, Common, Carl Thomas and, in fact, MF DOOM. The twentieth anniversary version consists of two new tracks, with “Bigger” that includes Choklate main the rollout.

The tribute is particularly poignant following the deaths of two of the observe’s key voices. MF DOOM, born Daniel Dumile, died on October 31, 2020, although his passing wasn’t publicly introduced till New Year’s Eve. Known for his masked persona and cryptic rhymes, DOOM was extensively revered for his affect on underground Hip-Hop and his collaborations with artists like Madlib and Danger Mouse.

Trugoy the Dove, born David Jolicoeur and a founding member of De La Soul, died on February 12, 2023, at age 54. His passing got here simply weeks earlier than the group’s catalog lastly arrived on streaming platforms after years of authorized battles. Trugoy’s voice and imaginative and prescient helped form the group’s legacy, and his absence is deeply felt on this anniversary celebration.

The twentieth anniversary version of The Grind Date is out there now.

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