Tommy Boy Records $100 Million; Rap Group De La Soul Reacts After Boycott Of Label

The label that gave the world Queen Latifah, DJ Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force, De La Soul, NORE, and Force MDs has been sold to Reservoir for $100 million.

According to an SEC filing, Tom Silverman sold 6,000 masters from the Tommy Boy label’s catalog to the New York-based music-rights company.

This is a crazy come-up for the Hip-Hop OG to the tune of $995,000,000.

Back in 1981, Silverman took a loan from his parents for $5,000 to start his record label. The first project that put him on the map was Bambaataa’s iconic “Planet Rock”
jam.

A few years later, Tommy Boy blasted Staten Island legends Force M.C.’s/ Force M.D.’s into the R&B and Hip-Hop universe with their first studio album Love Letters that featured the old school joints “Tears,” “Let Me Love You,” “Itchin’ For A Scratch,” and “Forgive Me Girl” in
1984.

In 1989, the label also dropped Queen Latifah’s All Hail the Queen and De La Soul’s Three Feet High and Rising. With her debut album, Latifah shifted the narrative of female rappers in the culture, moving regally through an industry heavy-laden with various layers of “tomboyism.”

While Latifah has not released a statement, the Long Island trio (who publicly have been in dispute with Tommy Boy over the rights to their music publishing) has.

With the purchase, De La will now be able to stream their music.

A statement from Reservoir noted, “We have already reached out to De La Soul and will work together to bring the catalog and the music back to the fans.”

This is a shift from what Silverman offered the guys in 2019. The label only wanted to offer the group 10% of the streaming profits. De La Soul responded on Instagram, “Woke up feeling a sense of greater peace of
mind….”

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Other rap artists signed to the label are as follows: Stetsasonic, Coolio, Naughty By Nature, Digital Underground, House of Pain, RZA (known back then as Prince Rakeem), CNN (Capone-N-Noreaga), Big Noyd, Biz Markie, The Cliks, Everlast, Gucci Mane, Lord Finesse, Paris and more.