De La Soul fans rejoiced when the group’s entire catalog returned to DSPs earlier this month – and the first-week streaming numbers reflect just how anticipated the return was.
On Friday (March 17), Billboard confirmed the De La Soul catalog registered 12.5 million official on-demand U.S. song streams in the week ending March 9 and sold 28,000 albums (both digital download and physical copies combined).
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After a long delay and legal battle, De La Soul’s first six albums — 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump and AOI: Bionix — arrived on streaming platforms on March 3, joining the rest of their discography.
3 Feet was the most streamed album for the week and even made its return to multiple Billboard charts. The 1989 LP landed at No. 8 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart at No. 8 with 26,000 equivalent album units, No. 4 on the Top Rap Albums chart and No. 15 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single and the group’s biggest single to date, “Me, Myself and I,” led the recap of De La Soul’s most streamed songs, with 1 million on-demand streams.
De La Soul had a tough time getting its catalog up on DSPs due to sample clearance issues and a contractual dispute with their former label, Tommy Boy. Things looked up, however, after Reservoir Media acquired its discography as part of its $100million acquisition of Tommy Boy in 2021. Reservoir Media will distribute De La Soul’s catalog via Chrysalis Records.
To commemorate the music’s arrival on streaming platforms, the group gathered in New York City for a celebration the same night. Dubbed The D.A.I.S.Y. Experience, the bittersweet event — which also commemorated the life and legacy of Trugoy The Dove – went down at Webster Hall and some of rap’s biggest stars stopped by to pay their respects, including Common, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Queen Latifah and Monie Love.
While fans are still mourning the sudden loss of Trugoy, they have new music to look forward to as DJ Drama recently revealed that a Gangsta Grillz mixtape with the group is on the way.
In a new interview with the Rap Radar podcast, Dram casually slipped in a gem that he’s working on the project with the group amid discussing his ability to remain a cross-generational talent.
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“De La Soul’s coming to streaming. I can’t be more excited,” Dram began. “And we got a Gangsta Grillz coming! Little sidebar.”
No other details were revealed.
