De La Soul Releases Entire Catalogue Online, Right Now, for Free

Group’s classic albums were shockingly unavailable online

In the ultimate hip-hop Valentine, De La Soul is giving away its entire catalogue for free — including classic albums that have never been available online.

We’ll wait for you to click over to the group’s website to collect classic albums like “3 Feet High and Rising,” “De La Soul Is Dead,” and “Buhloone Mindstate,” all of which are perfect. The giveaway coincides with the 25th anniversary next month of “3 Feet High and Rising.”

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The group’s Maseo explained in an interview with The Champs podcast last month that the group’s early albums aren’t available for sale digitally because of disputes over sample clearances. Asked how fans could get the albums, he recommended YouTube.

“It’s been a trying journey,” the group’s Posdnuos told Rolling Stone. “We’ve been blessed to be in the Library of Congress, but we can’t even have our music on iTunes. We’ve been working very hard to get that solved.”

The news gets better: Posdnuos also said the group plans to release its first new album in a decade, “You’re Welcome,” in a few weeks.

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There’s no overstating De La’s importance to hip-hop music: They provided an inventive, dryly comic counterpoint to the harder hip-hop that dominated when “3 Feet High and Rising” debuted, paving the way for experimental artists from The Pharcyde to Kanye West.

Fans have until noon ET Saturday to download. While you wait, here’s one last YouTube song:

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