De La Soul the fight for justice in now over. After decades of fighting Tommy Boy Records for their catalog, Maseo, Posdnuos, and Dave have officially gained the rights to the master recordings of albums such as 1989’s 3 Feet High & Rising and 1990’s De La Soul Is Dead.
On Monday (August 9), Maseo shared a post on his Instagram account that read, “Come Celebrate The Great News #A.O.I./Reservoir Records @resevoirmedia.” The group also revealed they’d be going live on Instagram at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday (August 10) to discuss the recent development.
In June, Variety reported that Tommy Boy Records was acquired by music-rights company Reservoir for an eye-catching $100 million. The deal included more than 6,000 masters, including Hip-Hop staples such as Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Paradise,” House of Pain’s “Jump Around” and Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force’s “Planet Rock.”
A rep for Reservoir said confidently, “We have already reached out to De La Soul and will work together to the bring the catalog and the music back to the fans.”
In 2019, De La Soul publicly called out Tommy Boy founder Tom Silverman for his questionable business practices. At the time, Maseo, Dave and Posdnuos revealed negotiations between the two parties had resulted in 90 percent of De La Soul’s streaming revenue going to Tommy Boy and 10 percent to the group, a deal they weren’t going to accept.
