The De Is Here

It’s the first newsletter of the year so we’re going to start this off with some amazing news! Legendary hip hop group De La Soul will finally have their music available on all digital streaming platforms on March 3rd 🙏

For those unfamiliar, De La Soul were among the pioneers of unique sampling techniques and jazz rap, and it was those very samples that prevented their music from being on streaming for so long. In their original contracts, it was stated that their early albums could only be produced on vinyl and cassette, so when digital music came to the forefront, those early albums were not eligible to be published digitally 😏

After a strenuous and tedious process of contract restructuring, Reservoir Media, who bought the group’s master recordings in 2021, finally made De La Soul’s dreams come true and got all their music cleared for streaming 🎧

De La Soul is truly one of the most impactful and influential hip hop acts in history. They’ve paved the way and inspired so many who have come after them. And now, their legacy will live on in the digital world in perpetuity. March 3rd is going to be a glorious day 📆

My Homie Strick

It took me 20 years, but I finally found out the meaning behind some classic Jay-Z lyrics last week. So I’m sure you’re all aware of Jay-Z’s iconic hit Public Service Announcement 👇

Towards the end of the first verse, Jay has a bar that goes “I check cheddar like a food inspector / My homie Strict told me, ‘dude finish your breakfast’” and for all these years, I figured that his homie Strict was NBA legend Rod Strickland. Contrary to my belief, he’s actually referring to New York streetball legend John “The Franchise” Strickland 🏀

In 2003, Strick played on a Rucker Park streetball team that was managed by Jay, and that term “finish your breakfast” was commonly used when someone was about to score after crossing a defender. I won’t get into it right now, but if you have some time, read up on The Greatest Game That Never Was that went down during that summer of 2003 ☀️

• But anyway, as a Jay-Z and basketball junkie, I cannot believe it took me this long to learn this fact (watch this video) 🍳

To finish us off I got you with five songs you need in your rotation ASAP 👇

• Lucky Me by Flwr Chyld & Sebastian Mikael

• WELCH ROAD FREESTYLE! by Nate Donk!

• She’s A 10 But… by ARTAN & Spencer Elmer

• Rollin’ by Misha, Anonymuz & Alexander Mack

• Angel by Little Simz

Playlist here as always, enjoy your week fam 💜

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