De La Soul say they are "exploring all of our legal options" surrounding a new biography about their group authored by award-winning music journalist and editor Marcus J. Moore.
Earlier this week (November 19), Moore published new book High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul via Dey Street Books, in which he tells the trio's history while also "[braiding] in a deeply personal coming-of-age story about his journey through life with De La as a backdrop," per an abstract.
Now, the group's surviving members have called Moore's book "unauthorized," stressing that they "are not connected to it in any way" after reportedly "receiving congratulatory messages" about its publication.
"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," a statement from De La Soul reads. "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.
"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 D.A.I.S.Y. Age by supporting projects backed by us."
While they don't directly reveal they are working on a book of their own, De La Soul shared that they are "cooking up something special for Spring 2025."
They add, "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."
Moore's readership and contemporaries have rightfully come to his defence, not only because he does excellent work, but also because it isn't the first time a biography has been written about an artist by someone else, and it surely won't be the last.
High and Rising, now available for pre-order, follows Moore's 2020 biography The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America.