De La Soul Is Celebrating Their 25th Year By Giving Away Their Catalog For Free, For 25 Hours

In just over two weeks, De La Soul’s groundbreaking debut album, 3 Feet High And Rising turns 25 years old. The first time Heads heard Posdnous, Trugoy, and DJ Maseo has already turned a quarter century old, as has the shapeshifting production from Prince Paul, and all the colorful artwork, three-sided singles, and amazing videos that kicked off the D.A.I.S.Y. Age.

In the years that followed, De La has released five more albums with Tommy Boy Records, a one-off with Beyonce’s father (The Grind Date), a project with Nike, a self-proclaimed (and self-released) bootleg, and a spin-off that we can’t quite consider a De La LP.

Throughout that time, the trio from Long Island, New York has seemingly shunned going digital. While De La Soul has found plenty of success in the web era, through work with the Gorillaz, Twitter, and nonstop touring, the group and their former labels have never been big on releasing music and video content to places like Spotify, YouTube, and Pandora—with few exceptions.

In the most exciting sneak attack since Beyonce’s LP in December, De La announced, via Rolling Stone, that they’re giving away their entire catalog for 25 hours, beginning tomorrow at their WeAreDeLaSoul.com website (11 am to 12pm on Saturday).

This includes:

3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
De La Soul is Dead (1991)
Buhloone Mindstate (1993)
Stakes Is High (1996)
Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000)
AOI: Bionix (2001)
De La Mix Tape: Remixes, Rarities and Classics (2004)
The Grind Date (2004)
The Impossible: Mission TV Series – Pt. 1 (2006)
Are You In?: Nike+ Original Run (2009)

And possibly more?

This is probably a better Valentines Day gift than you’re giving or getting. What’s more, the group told RS that an EP is on the way, with three joints produced by Pete Rock, and three produced by DJ Premier.

De La Soul's Early Albums To Hit Streaming Platforms, But Will Not Benefit Artists
February 26, 2019 - 5:31 pm by Jessica McKinney

"Your purchases will roughly go 90% Tommy Boy, 10% De La."

De La Soul's early albums are finally coming to streaming platforms. After a long and exhausting battle with their label Tommy Boy Records, the group announced the news on social media on Tuesday (Feb. 26).

While De La's music will soon be available to the masses, it will come at a hefty price. "Dear Fans, the music WILL be released digitally," the group– which is comprised of Posdnuos, Trugoy , and Mase– wrote. "After 30 years of good music and paying their debt to Hip Hop, De L Soul unfortunately will not taste the fruit of their labor. Your purchases will roughly go 90% Tommy Boy, 10% De La." In other words, Tommy Boy will be reaping the profit of De La Soul's digital sales.

The bittersweet announcement comes briefly after the group revealed that they were engaged in intense negotiations with Tommy Boy. "Dear fans…just got wind that Tommy Boy was not happy about our last post. Touché. We are not happy about releasing our catalog under such unbalanced, unfair terms," they wrote in a previous Instagram post.

It's unclear if the deal has been set in stone or when De La Soul's projects will hit streaming services at this time.

Well friends, after 30 years of profiting from our music and hard work... and after 7 long months of stalled negotiations, we are sad to say that we’ve been unable to reach an agreement and earn Tommy Boy’s respect for our music/legacy.

With some helpful consulting and long careful consideration, we’ve decided we will not do our 30+ years the disservice of settling on Tom Silverman’s terms.
Tommy Boy says they are “not in the business of giving artists back their Masters.” We realize, there is a process in reclaiming ownership but we do not trust Tommy Boy in this process after so many years of disappointment. Therefore, our catalog will not see the light of day by way of our involvement or consent. This means, if you see De La Soul music/albums available for streaming or purchase anywhere, BE AWARE, all parties involved WILL profit but De La Soul WILL NOT benefit or earn deservedly/fairly. We really tried. More details to come.

Nevertheless, our fans have/will keep our legacy alive!
We appreciate and ask for your continued support.
Onto new things, new music and more amazing respectful business relationships.
#dontpressplay
#respectourlegacy
#respecttheculture
#tommyboycottcontinues
#4080