Biography writer hits back at criticism from De La Soul
Marcus J Moore, the author of High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul, described as a “stunning cultural biography of the era-defining hip-hop trio that touched millions of lives and changed rap forever,” has responded to De La Soul following criticism.
Released in November 2024, Moore wrote the book due to his love of the groundbreaking group and discovered that a biography hadn’t been written. “My first thought was, ‘Oh, well, clearly I can’t do that, because there’s already been a book written,'” he said. “And then, much to my surprise, there wasn’t one.”
However, after it was published, De La Soul quickly distanced themselves from the book and even threatened legal action against Moore. “We want to make it absolutely clear: this is an unauthorised book, and we are not connected to it in any way,” the rap collective said in a statement.
“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, who has previously written for Pitchfork, The New York Times, NPR and Entertainment Weekly, appeared on a new episode of the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast and shared his thoughts on De La Soul’s retaliation. “It was disappointing because they were quite literally judging a book by its cover without having read the book,” he said.
However, the writer understood the reaction to be a “trauma response” from a group who have faced various battles within the music industry, including sample clearance disputes. “When you’ve been fighting against an industry for 35 years, then naturally anybody coming along that you feel is trying to take from your legacy, you’re going to make them the enemy,” he said.
Five years ago, Moore wrote a book called The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America, which “traced not only Lamar’s powerful impact on music but also on our current society, especially under the weight of police brutality, divisive politics, and social injustice.”