The Magic Number

De La Soul is an American hip-hop group from Long Island, New York.^[1] It consisted of David Jolicoeur (Trugoy the Dove), Vincent Mason (Maseo), and Kelvin Mercer (Posdnous).^[1] The group got signed to Tommy Boy Records.^[4] With producer Prince Paul, they went to Calliope Studios to create a record.^[4] "The Magic Number" is the second song of the group's debut album 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), following "Intro".^[4]

Posdnous and Trugoy provided vocals to "The Magic Number".^[5] The song contained a sample from Bob Dorough's "Three Is a Magic Number".^[5] In a 2009 interview, Trugoy said, "Obviously three of us in the group, '3 is the magic number' became the philosophy, but mostly, it was just a song that we loved and it became part of the album."^[6]

The drums of "The Magic Number" were taken from Double Dee and Steinski's "Lesson 3",^[5] a chopped version of John Bonham's drum breaks on Led Zeppelin's "The Crunge".^[7] A line from Johnny Cash's "Five Feet High and Rising" ("How high's the water, mama? Three feet high and rising.") was also used in the song.^[7] Multiple records were scratched at the end of the song.^[5]

In a 2016 interview, Posdnous said, "It's one of those songs that has always had this great energy and freshness, because it brings everything together at the end, and it means a lot – three friends who've stuck through everything and have been through so many ups and downs, and have maintained what people consider a magic bond."^[5]

De La Soul released "The Magic Number" in 1989 as a single from the album 3 Feet High and Rising (1989).^[8] In the United Kingdom, it remains the group's highest charting single, peaking at number 7.^[9]

Due to sample clearances and other legal issues, De La Soul's first six albums were unavailable on digital streaming services for decades.^[10] The catalog was acquired by Reservoir Media as part of its acquisition of the Tommy Boy Records catalog.^[10] These albums were made available on digital streaming platforms on March 3, 2023.^[10]

"The Magic Number" was made available on digital streaming platforms for the first time on January 13, 2023.^[11] To celebrate the occasion, De La Soul also released the song as a 7-inch vinyl single, a cassette single, and a digital download.^[12]

Jack Needham of Red Bull Music Academy wrote, "The Prince Paul-produced single, taken from De La's landmark rap debut 3 Feet High and Rising, helped usher in a new phase of modern hip-hop alongside records from the Beastie Boys (Paul's Boutique, 1989) and A Tribe Called Quest (The Low End Theory, 1991)."^[9]

In 2017, NME placed the song at number 77 on its list of the "100 Best Songs of the 1980s".^[13]

"The Magic Number" was used in the end credits of the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).^[14][15]

Credits adapted from liner notes.^[16]

• De La Soul – production, arrangement
• Prince Paul – production, mixing
• Scotty Hard – mixing
• Michael Fossenkemper – mastering
• Deborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearances