De La Soul’s full catalogue to hit streaming services later this year

The trio’s long-held rights dispute has ended

De La Soul’s entire catalogue, including their 1989 debut ‘3 Feet High and Rising’, will finally arrive on streaming services later this year, the group have announced.

Its three members – Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo – revealed the news on social media yesterday (August 10), where they shared a clip of a video conference between them.

De La Soul were previously tied in a lengthy dispute with former label Tommy Boy Records over the ownership of their music. In June, it was revealed that the label – which also houses the works of Queen Latifah, House Of Pain, and other hip-hop artists – was sold to music rights company Reservoir.

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A spokesman for the entity later revealed that the company would “work together” with De La Soul to “bring the catalogue and the music back to the fans”. Now, it looks like both parties have made significant progress.

“We have come to a deal between ourselves and Reservoir to release our music in 2021,” Trugoy, aka Dave Jolicoeur, said in the clip on Instagram.

“Our catalogue will be released this year, we are working diligently with the good folks at Reservoir to get this done. We sat down with them and got it done pretty quickly actually,” Trugoy added, noting that the process took as fast as “two weeks”. De La Soul also mentioned that they’re aiming to get their music on streaming platforms in November.

 

However, the trio noted that they weren’t “bashing” Tommy Boy founder Tom Silverman, saying they’re just “happy that chapter is over and done with”. De La Soul’s back catalogue was held out from streaming due to sample clearance issues and the nature of their contract.

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The news was previously revealed by Talib Kweli earlier this week (August 9), who announced it on social media after speaking with Maseo. “After years of being taken advantage by the recording industry in the worst possible ways, De La Soul now owns all the rights to their masters and is in full control of the amazing music they have created,” Kweli wrote on Instagram.

In February 2019, Trugoy said that Tommy Boy wanted 70 per cent, plus an extra 20 per cent, to cover an alleged $2million debt owed to the label by the band. De La Soul claimed they didn’t know what debt Tommy Boy was referring to, and that they were “still trying to find clarity”.

Of the group’s nine studio albums, six were released through Tommy Boy Records, starting with their classic 1989 debut album, ‘3 Feet High and Rising’, and ending with 2001’s ‘AOI: Bionix’.

Earlier this year, the trio made a guest appearance as themselves on the animated series Teen Titans Go!.

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