Author Addresses De La Soul Criticism: “They Judged a Book by Its Cover”

Biography Controversy

The author of a biography on De La Soul mentioned that the group “literally judged a book by its cover” during their public criticism.

• READ MORE: De La Soul concert in London: an enjoyable celebration of one of the best to ever do it

Upcoming Release

Music journalist Marcus J. Moore will release Tall and Growing, a book that delves into the history of the legendary New York City rap trio, in November. This will be the first cultural biography ever created about the group.

Shortly after its announcement, De La Soul released a statement strongly distancing themselves from the book and indicated potential legal action.

“We want to be absolutely clear: this is an unauthorized book and we are in no way associated with it,” they stated. “If you choose to support this book, it is your right. We just want to be clear that we do not endorse this and we are exploring all of our legal options. Even in the title of this book the number “3” is missing, which shows how unreliable it is, because for us “3” will always be a magic number.”

Author’s Response

Moore has now addressed the situation for the first time during an interview on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast.

“It was disappointing because they literally judged a book by its cover without even reading it,” he expressed.

He further mentioned feeling “betrayed,” stating, “I wanted to say something publicly, but then I realized, oh, I don’t need to say anything because my name does all the work here.”

Moore elaborated that he frequently reached out to the group during the writing process and showed understanding for their negative reaction to the book’s existence.

“When you’ve been fighting against an industry for 35 years, naturally, yeah, anyone who you think is trying to take away your legacy or whatever, you’re naturally going to make them your enemy,” he said.

In other news, De La Soul have confirmed the release of their rare 1994 EP “Clear Lake Auditorium,” featuring a song by A Tribe Called Quest, set for March 7th. Get your copy here.

This Friday (January 17), they will also hold a pay-what-you-want concert at New York’s Lincoln Center, marking their first hometown show in 16 months. Remaining tickets can be purchased here.