De La Soul pose for a portrait in circa 1990. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Veteran New York City hip-hop outfit De La Soul have denounced a new book about the trio, taking to social media to tell followers they’re “exploring” legal options in the wake of its publication.
The book in question is High And Rising: A Book About De La Soul, published by writer Marcus J. Moore on Tuesday (Nov. 19). Moore, who had previously published The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America in 2020 described his decision to write about the group as coming from a desire to talk about “subjects that are somewhat — if not completely — underappreciated in the literary space”.
“The first book about De La Soul, High and Rising shows that De La Soul is Black history, American history, world history, our history,” a synopsis for the book reads. “This is a tale about staying the course, and how holding true to your virtue can lead to dynamic results.”
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However, the very subject of the volume have since denounced its publication, with De La Soul noting they “want to make it absolutely clear: this is an unauthorized book, and we are not connected to it in any way.”
“For years, you’ve stood with us in our fight for ownership of our catalog and the right to benefit from the music we created. That same dedication to protecting what’s ours extends to being the ones who tell OUR story—something deeply personal and ‘De La’ to the core,” they wrote. “Our story will be told in our words, in our way, with the style you’ve come to know and love. Until then, we encourage you to indulge in the authentic DA.I.S.Y. Age by supporting projects backed by us.
“If you choose to support this book, that’s your right. We just want it to be clear that we do not and we are exploring all of our legal options. Even within this book’s title, the ‘3’ Is missing which shows how inauthentic it is because for us, ‘3’ will always be the magic number.”
De La Soul’s post closed by noting they’re “cooking up something special for Spring 2025”, with many fans in the comment section requestion they reconsider their decision, and sharing support for Moore and his work.
Formed in 1988, De La Soul quickly rose to fame in 1989 with the release of their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, which peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and has since been viewed as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.
The group released their ninth album, And the Anonymous Nobody…, in 2016, peaking at No. 9 and serving as their last record to date. Founding member Trugoy the Dove (aka Dave Jolicoeur) passed away in 2023, just weeks before the trio’s protracted battle to bring their catalog to streaming came to an end.
