Vintage De La Soul 3 Feet High Promo Glow in the Dark T-Shirt

This vintage T-shirt has undergone a meticulous in-person examination by an authenticator (James A.), who has concluded that it is an authentic, deadstock, 1989 De La Soul "3 Feet High and Rising" Glow Promo T-shirt in a Hanes XL size.

This garment is in deadstock condition and qualifies for platinum certification status.

This T-shirt is in very-fine/near-mint condition. The only flaws appear to be garment construction/print production-based.

The front features art by Michael Uman in five colors (with an additional 6th glow-in-the-dark ink). Mase, Posdnuos, and Trugoy the Dove are depicted against a target background, with the De La Soul logo underneath.

The back also features five colors (with an additional 6th glow-in-the-dark ink), making up text characters that showcase the four trivia questions featured in De La's debut album. The Tommy Boy logo is featured below the print. 

This item is VF/NM (near mint/very fine) deadstock, and as such, in order to preserve the exact state it was presented to us in - we do not steam, stretch or attempt to remove wrinkles or creases.

The following factors contributed to this grade:

This t-shirt has never been washed and was properly stored for over three decades.

The condition of the shirt, the measurements (compared to another one of these shirts in the same size, this one has notably larger measurements), the vibrancy of the print, and the mint tag all indicate that it has never been washed.

After examining the item's construction, there are no issues with stitching on the collar, shoulders, or arms. However, the bottom hem, front, and back don't align as I would expect from a deadstock shirt. This could result from a cutting/stitching error during the production process. Based on this listing from 2011, when another one of these shirts was documented,  you can see that it, too, has a similar uneven bottom hem, so this isn't unusual for these tees.

Nevertheless, it appears to be an inherent issue, not caused by the owner.

There are three extremely subtle ink mishaps.

A faint and small area of green ink to the right of the front print.

And a touch of pink ink in two spots below the green.

On the rear of the tee, a tiny area of blue ink is to the left of the print near the arm hem.

There is a stable untrimmed thread-end on the inside, right, neckline, that's roughly 1", which poses no threat to the integrity of the garment.

There is a small thread pull/fabric bunch on the inside rear of the garment on the right side, roughly 2 inches above the bottom hem. It is stable and not visible or detectable to the touch from the outside.

Additionally:

• The T-shirt is bright white; the print colors are bright (watch the video in the Photos & Video section for most accurate appearance.)
• The shirt has a smell that indicates it's brand new.
• There are no signs of any repair or restoration.
• The collar has not been stretched or warped, and the neck elasticity is optimal.
• Given this is a white shirt, there is no reason to suspect any issues with dry rot.
• The print is vibrant, with no evidence of any fade from light or sun damage.
• There are no holes, stains, blemishes (aside from the ink mentioned above mishaps), or seam separations.
• No signs of pilling.
• The print registration is optimal, with no creases or errors.
• The glow ink print registration is consistent with the other known version (see related material.)

Color Profile: The front and back prints feature 5 colors, with an additional glow-in-the-dark ink that is nearly invisible in daylight.

Print type: Front: Flat, half-tone dots over glow ink on faces. Rear: Flat.

Given that this t-shirt was printed in limited quantities, we expect the print area on all originals to be identical. As an additional authentication data point, we've taken photos of the print measurements and included them with the secret photos attached to this certificate.

Color: White

Construction: Tube Knit

Fabric: 100% Cotton

Stitching Profile: 1,1,2 (single stitch on collar, arms, and double on bottom hem.)

Pit-to-Pit: 21.8" (55.5 cm)

Full Length: 29.9" (76 cm) (center, rear collar to front bottom hem)

Left Shoulder seam to arm hem: 7.3" (18.5 cm)

Right shoulder seam to arm hem:  7.7" (19.5 cm)

Left Arm Opening:  7.9" (20 cm)

Right Arm Opening: 7.5" (19 cm)

(The right/left measurements above are from the perspective of the wearer's body)

Tag: Hanes, Blue Bar, Nylon/Poly tag

Size: XL (46-48)

Fabric: 100% Cotton

Installation: Sewn-Under, well centered on neckline, ever so slightly tilted when the border above Hanes is compared to the fabric above.

Condition: The tag is absolutely mint, stiff, and crispy, another indication this item is deadstock. The front tag design is very nicely centered with even borders on each side.

Width: 1.77" (4.5 cm)

Length: 1.25" (3.18 cm) (visible tag)

"I knew the promotion staff and the owner of Tommy Boy, Tom Silverman. We were fierce competitors when it came to getting records played on the radio, yet we were friends at the end of the day.
I worked at a number of record labels. We swapped t-shirts with colleagues all the time. Funny thing with this T is that I had never met the group De La Soul. It wasn't until my partner and I managed Pete Rock and we met him in the studio while he was producing tracks for De La's current record, that I finally met the guys."

- Iris Dillon, HoneyPlease Entertainment Productions, LLC

New York artist Michael Uman created a comic strip for the album sleeve of De La Soul's '3 Feet High & Rising' and was commissioned to design this t-shirt using some of the same elements.

A simplified version of the front print of this t-shirt has been reprinted numerous times in an unlicensed manner. However, no known attempts have been made to recreate the front and back of the t-shirt in a counterfeit scenario.

De La Soul reissued this T-shirt in January 2023 as a limited edition, indicating that only 333 were printed. The shirt didn't have glow ink; notably, there was no artist's name on the front or Tommy Boy logo on the back.

While this T-shirt does not have copyright/license text, it does feature the Tommy Boy logo with an ® symbol. It is unquestionably an authorized product.

There are no variants to this print.

The only two verifiable sales of this T-shirt transpired through eBay and Defunkd.com.

The first was in 2010 for $274. Typically I can't verify WorthPoint records, but in this instance, I personally purchased this from Stormcrow Vintage.

I then sold this t-shirt circa 2013 for $500 via the Defunkd Vintage T-Shirt Collective.

WorthPoint reported the sale of one in March 2023 for $416. Yet, I couldn't verify this sale using eBay's confirmed sales data in the last three years, so there is a high likelihood it didn't transpire at that price and was subsequently dealt off the system.

No other sales records exist, as it has changed hands privately or on platforms that don't share sales data.

We estimate this item will sell for $1500-$2500 (USD). It is currently being auctioned on eBay via Defunkd, and we'll update this section when the auction concludes.

The five highest De La Soul t-shirt sale prices in the last three years are the following:

On December 2nd, 2024, the Defunkd auction for this t-shirt concluded with a high bid of $1126.00 USD.

The item was paid for, and the sale is confirmed. 

To determine if these t-shirts were distributed at the release party of this album, I studied this "3 Feet High Press Kit" footage that includes footage from the party, but I couldn't spot any of these t-shirts.

In an interview with DJ AM on Defunkd, he named this De La Soul T-Shirt as his favorite. "I think my favorite, though, is my De La Soul – 3 feet high and rising promo tee. It glows in the dark and has the four questions from the game show skit on the album on the back."

Heapsmag.com featured a photo of one of these t-shirts with a sticker advertising that it glows; this is the only instance we've seen of this. Even when t-shirts are kept in mint condition, these stickers typically dry out and fall off over long periods.

DJ Ross One, the Hip-Hop T-Shirt Historian behind the Rap Tees book, called this t-shirt a "Top 10 promo tee," and showed off its glow effect, which is still strong after thirty-plus decades.

In 2016, A DJ named Mr. Smith wore one of these t-shirts to work.

On February 12, 2023, David Jolicoeur, aka Trugoy the Dove, who is featured on the right of the t-shirt, passed away at the age of 54. The two surviving members have stated that they will continue to make music and perform. They are slated to perform at David Geffen Hall in NYC on January 17th, 2025.

I attempted to contact artist Michael Uman to comment on this t-shirt design, how many were made, and how it was distributed, but he has been unresponsive.

About a year ago, he contributed his 3 Feet artwork to a tribute to Trugoy at SXSW.

8 high-resolution microscopic images highlighting the unique characteristics of this t-shirt—such as its print, fabric, and tag—have been captured and securely linked to this certificate. Just as no two fingerprints are alike, no two vintage tees are identical. These images create a robust and verifiable connection between this certification and the garment, eliminating the need for aftermarket tags, marks, or alterations, thereby preserving the t-shirt's original state.

To prevent counterfeiters from copying our photos, the publicly visible ones have been reduced in quality, while the original, high-res images have been stored privately with this certificate. Watch the video in the Photos & Video section for the most accurate showcase of this garment's appearance.

Given that this t-shirt was printed in limited quantities, we expect the print area on all originals to be identical. As an additional authentication data point, we've taken photos of the print measurements and included them with the secret photos attached to this certificate.

These images are exclusively accessible by Defunkd for future verification.

Additional information discovered after the original publishing date of this certificate can be added to the following sections:

• Artists
• Reissues or Counterfeits
• Licensing
• Related Material
• Value
• Variants
• Notes

Changes will be noted here.

All other sections are locked, except formatting, grammatical corrections, or additional photos.

December 11, 2024: Updated the "Value" section with the final auction price.