De La Soul

Few long-lived rap acts have been as astonishingly consistent as De La Soul, the Long Island trio that recorded one of hip-hop's most groundbreaking albums, 1989's 3 Feet High and Rising, and went on to record a series of great follow-ups that successfully escaped that album's long shadow. In 2000 they began an ambitious trilogy of albums titled Art Official Intelligence, but plans for the third installment were scrapped when the group's longtime label Tommy Boy crumbled in 2002. The group moved on to other projects, but this year they may finally get some closure: They announced that their next album will be Art Official Intelligence III.