De La Soul’s AOI 3 To Be Released Independently

De La Soul’s Maseo said that De La Soul’s third installment of the Artificial Intelligence series will be released independently, through his Bear Mountain Entertainment label. After splitting with Tommy Boy when the label folded, it was reported that the group had inked a four album deal with Elektra. "The group is not signed to […]

De La Soul’s Maseo said that De La Soul’s third

installment of the Artificial Intelligence series will be released independently,

through his Bear Mountain Entertainment label.

After splitting with Tommy Boy when the label

folded, it was reported that the group had inked a four album deal with Elektra.

"The group is not signed to Elektra,"

Bear Mountain president Jason Alexander told AllHipHop.com. "The album

will come out independently. We are still negotiating a distribution situation."

Last year, Pos told AllHipHop.com that label

had inked a four album deal with Elektra and said that AOI 3 may see the light

of day via the internet, but that the group was working on different album for

Elektra.

In a recent interview with the Miami Herald,

Maseo, who lives and works out of Boca Raton, Florida, said that he was looking

forward to the challenge of being independent.

”It’s the best feeling in the world,” Maseo

said. "With the turn of the industry and the Internet absorbing a lot of

the record sales, it’s the best thing that could have happened in my career."

"It was great to wear the Tommy Boy jersey,

but now we’re playing for our own," he continued. "From the business

perspective, we get to see more of a return on our music.”