Songfacts®:

• Themes of identity and the complexities of group dynamics were woven into De La Soul's "I Am I Be," the centerpiece of the Buhloone Mindstate album. It's a self-reflective and introspective track in which the three members of De La Soul - Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, and Maseo - deliver verses about their backgrounds and aspirations.
• Product of a North Carolina cat
  Who scratched the back of a pretty woman named Hattie
  Who departed life just a little too soon
  And didn't see me grab the Plug Tune fame
  
  Posdnous' verse is an autobiographical lyric. "Hattie Mae was my mother who had recently passed away and I was talking about that, and they tragedy that she never got to meet my children," he told Uncut magazine. "She, like my father, was from the South. Growing up in New York, my parents worked hard and never took holidays. They'd just send us to relatives in North Carolina for the summer."
• Veteran saxophonists Maceo Parker and Pee Wee Ellis, and trombonist Fred Wesley bring their soulful mastery and shared history with James Brown to this track, enriching it with a sophisticated jazziness.
• The production, handled by the group and Prince Paul, uses the same live instrumental from the fifth Buhloone Mindstate track, "I Be Blowin'," but with verses on top. It also samples Lou Rawls' 1970 version of "You've Made Me So Very Happy," Jimmy Ponder's 1974 version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Jefferson Starship's 1975 hit "Miracles."
• "I Am I Be" boasts an ensemble of background vocals, including hip-hop artists Q-Tip, Busta Rhymes and Shortie No Mass, along with recording engineers and members of De La Soul's personal circle.
• "I Am I Be" was earmarked for a single release but it was canceled because Posdnous ended up in the hospital with spinal meningitis and he couldn't film the video.
• Buhloone is a phonetic spelling of the English noun "balloon." "The album title means having the elevated mind state of a "buhloone,' or balloon," explained Posdnous. "We might blow up but we won't go pop, or in other words we're popular but not trying to make pop music."
  
  "A lot of people hated this album when it came out," he added, "but a lot of those same people stuck with it now and say it's their favorite De La Soul album."