Maseo of De La Soul doesn’t waste time dwelling on the past, but when your catalog’s been out of print for 20 years, it’s hard not to. After finally getting the rights back to their legendary albums, Maseo sounds relieved, but not entirely satisfied. “It’s bittersweet,” he says. “We had to fight for this, and it shouldn’t have been that way.”
It’s not just about the money—though that’s part of it—it’s about the principle. “We came up at a time when record deals were going around at market value for the ‘80s,” he explains. “You sign your dream away because it’s the only way to get it off the ground. Then decades later, you’re stuck with a bad deal that no one will renegotiate. We tried. A lot.”
The breakthrough finally came when Reservoir Media bought the Tommy Boy catalog. “They made it right,” Maseo says. “They wanted to be on the right side of history. You can’t say that about everyone who held our music hostage over the years.”
The timing couldn’t be more bittersweet. Just as the music comes back, the group is mourning the loss of Dave “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, who passed away earlier this year. De La Soul still pushed forward with the “Daisy Experience,” a celebration of their music at Webster Hall that turned into an unexpected tribute. “We almost didn’t do it,” Maseo admits. “But Posdnous was like, ‘We gotta do this for Dave.’ That night, it was like a New Year’s party and a memorial rolled into one. Wild, chaotic, but beautiful too.”
They’ve had plenty of wild nights, especially when working with Damon Albarn and Gorillaz. “It’s like family,” Maseo says. “Damon is one of us. We’re in his house, with his kids, breaking bread. And the creative process? Just vibes. A lot of weed and tequila. ‘Feel Good Inc.’? That was a tequila night. It wasn’t supposed to be that song at all, but we switched gears at the last minute. Dave just started spoofing Luke Skywalker’s ‘Doo Doo Brown,’ and it stuck.”
Gorillaz might’ve been a one-off project for Albarn, but it’s become a recurring collaboration for De La. “Damon can’t walk away from it because it’s about the people he brings in. Same with us. We keep coming back because it’s just too good to leave behind.”
With their catalog finally streaming and Gorillaz collaborations still popping off, Maseo and Pos are looking ahead to AOI 3—the long-awaited third installment of their Art Official Intelligence trilogy. “It’s gotta happen,” Maseo insists. “We owe it to ourselves and to Dave. We can’t just let that story go unfinished.”
The show goes on. De La Soul is already planning live dates, including gigs with Robert Glasper and Dave Chappelle. “We have to keep it moving,” Maseo says. “If we stop, Dave stops. That’s just how it is. We’re gonna keep that light on for him, keep the music going, and keep telling our story.”
For a group that’s faced decades of label drama, losing a member, and fighting to reclaim their legacy, it’s remarkable how resilient De La Soul remains. They’re not just survivors—they’re lifers, still pushing forward with the same spirit that made them icons in the first place.
Watch the interview above and then check out the video below.
