Talib Kweli posted on his Instagram on Saturday, saying that founding member DJ Maseo confirmed it to him.. “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 in a post. “Let’s salute Plugs 1, 2 and 3 for sticking to their guns and showing us that we can all beat the system if we come together as a community. Let’s hear it for black ownership of black art! Congratulations fellas.”
This is a long time coming for the hip-hop group. They’ve been in a public back-and-forth with former record label, Tommy Boy Records over the rights to the masters of their back catalog. At first, it was Rostrum Records founder Benjy Grinberg who was going to help De La Soul obtain their masters by buying Tommy Boy Records outright. “De La Soul was incredibly impactful and important to my musical upbringing,” Grinberg told HipHopDX last year. “Along with Prince Paul, they helped influence my love of Hip Hop and of creativity in general. I would love nothing more than to be able to help them in any way I possibly can, though I haven’t gotten very far with Tommy Boy. It’s an uphill battle.”
But it ended up being Reservoir Media who came to the rescue. According to Variety, they bought Tommy Boy Music for a reported $100 million, giving them ownership to six of De La Soul’s albums including certified classics 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), De La Soul Is Dead (1991), and Buhloone Mindstate (1993). Afterward, a Reservoir spokesperson confirmed that streaming the De La Soul albums could be in play. “We have already reached out to De La Soul and will work together to bring the catalog and the music back to the fans,” Reservoir told Variety in June. De La Soul is best known for its platinum-selling 1989 debut "3 Feet High and Rising," which critics consistently list among the best hip-hop albums of all time. Be sure to stay tuned for when the iconic Long Island, N.Y. group tours and if they do indeed hit the streaming sites.
