*Talib Kweli took to Instagram on Saturday to confirm that hip-hop trio De La Soul finally owns the rights to their music.
“Ladies and gentlemen I spoke to @djmaseo from the legendary @wearedelasoul today and it’s official,” Kweli wrote in a post. “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. 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.”
Check out Talib Kweli’s full statement below.
The group has fought for years to gain control of their back catalog.
In 2019, De La Soul announced that their catalog would be streaming but 90% of the money would go to their former label Tommy Boy Records.
READ MORE: De La Soul ‘Unable to Reach Agreement” with Tommy Boy, Urge Fans Not to Stream Catalog
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After months of negotiations, both sides failed to reach an agreement, with Tommy Boy noting that they’re “not in the business of giving artists back their masters.”
Tommy Boy was ultimately sold to Reservoir Media in a deal reprotedly worth $100 million.
De La Soul previously encouraged their fans to avoid streaming their music, Complex reported.
“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,” the group shared on Instagram. “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.”
De La Soul’s first six albums, including “3 Feet High” and Rising,” “De La Soul Is Dead,” and “Buhloone Mindstate” are owned by Reservoir Media, which wants to bring the group’s catalog to streaming platforms.
“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.
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