Webster Hall on Thursday night.The innovative, influential Long Island trio — which broadened the scope of hip-hop with their eclectic experimentation and quirky sensibility — had long been M.I.A.
from streaming services due to years of legal battles with their former label, Tommy Boy Records. But after Reservoir Media purchased the Tommy Boy catalog, De La Soul’s first six studio albums — including their groundbreaking debut, 1989’s “3 Feet High and Rising” — finally became available to stream on Friday.Fittingly, Amazon Music sponsored the long-awaited release party with an immersive event, the DA.I.S.Y.
Experience, that brought together rap royalty such as KRS-One, Chuck D and Q-Tip, NYC DJ legends including Clark Kent, Red Alert and D-Nice, and old-school hip-hop heads who make it all feel like one big family reunion.After performances by Queen Latifah (“U.N.I.T.Y.”) and Common (“The Light”), comedian Dave Chappelle led the countdown to the midnight streaming release as if it was New Year’s Eve. “In just a few seconds, you have every opportunity to support these brothers and let ’em know what they mean to you,” he said. “These brothers are the big thing of some of the most beautiful things that happened in our culture.”Of course, it was a bittersweet moment just a couple weeks after Trugoy the Dove (whose real name was David Jolicoeur) died at 54 on Feb.
12 after battling congestive heart failure in recent years.De La Soul’s other members, Maseo (a k a Vincent Mason Jr.) and Posdunous (Kelvin Mercer), remembered their late partner in rhyme.“Our hearts are heavy.
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