De La Soul announce release of unheard EP with A Tribe Called Quest
De La Soul have been relatively quiet since the death of member Trugoy The Dove in 2023. However, they recently took to social media to reveal that they plan on releasing an unheard EP they made with New York collective A Tribe Called Quest in 1994, named Clear Lake Auditorium.
The release date has been confirmed for March 7th, and it will be available to stream on all streaming platforms, such as Spotify. Furthermore, fans of De La Soul will be able to pre-order a limited-edition CD and clear vinyl of the project.
The picture was captioned: “Originally pressed in 1994 as an exclusive promotional release for select DJs, ‘Clear Lake Auditorium’ has achieved near-mythical status among collectors. The album includes four tracks from the Buhloone Mindstate era, with two rare collaborations: ‘sh.Fe. Mc’s’ featuring A Tribe Called Quest and ‘Stix & Stonz’ with contributions from Tito of The Fearless Four, Grandmaster Caz, LA Sunshine of the Treacherous Three and Prince Whipper Whip.”
The EP has been released before but is incredibly rare. However, it was an exclusive release with little promotion. Only 500 copies were made available, and certain tracks selected by the group as promotional material were only sent to DJs. As such, Clear Lake Auditorium is considered rare and unofficial.
There has been a lot of excitement surrounding the EPs release, and in an interview with The Source, Posdnuos stated, “It’s incredible to see how our music continues to resonate. From remixes and reissues to live performances, we’re excited to share this journey with fans old and new.”
In other De La Soul news, they have recently criticised an unauthorised biography written about them. According to the group themselves, they are “exploring all of [their] legal options”. Named High & Rising, a reference to the group’s 1989 debut album, it is the first cultural biography to have been written about the legendary hip-hop group. It was written by Marcus J Moore without the group’s knowledge.
In response to its publication, the collective wrote, “Friends and De La Family. We’ve been receiving congratulatory messages about a book titled High & Rising. However, we want to make it absolutely clear: this is an unauthorised book, and we are not connected to it in any way.”
The book is not strictly about De La Soul but is the life story of the author, with the tale of De La Soul’s career interwoven throughout. Its synopsis suggests the book is “a deeply personal coming-of-age story about his journey through life with De La as a backdrop.”