De La Soul release 1989 single ‘The Magic Number’ on streaming platforms

American hip-hop trio De La Soul have finally released their 1989 hit single ‘The Magic Number’ on streaming platforms.

The cut arrived on digital platforms today (January 13), more than 30 years since it first featured on the group’s debut album ‘3 Feet High And Rising’. The track regained popularity after it appeared in last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire.

To further celebrate the occasion, the trio — comprising Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Maseo — released a limited-edition 7″ vinyl, cassingle and digital download, all available via band’s website. They’ve also shared an accompanying animated lyric video to mark the single’s digitalisation, courtesy of agency F That — check it out below.

It comes a week after De La Soul announced they’ll be releasing their entire discography on streaming platforms this year, to celebrate the 34th anniversary of ‘3 Feet High And Rising’.

At present, only the group’s three most recent albums are available on Spotify — 2004’s ‘The Grind Date’, 2012’s ‘First Serve’ and 2016’s ‘And The Anonymous Nobody…’. However, on March 3 this will expand to include their aforementioned debut LP, plus 1991’s ‘De La Soul Is Dead’, 1993’s ‘Buhloone Mindstate’, 1996’s ‘Stakes Is High’, 2000’s ‘Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump’ and 2001’s ‘Art Official Intelligence: Bionix’.

De La Soul’s classic albums were initially withheld from streaming platforms due to a dispute with their label Warner Records, who allegedly claimed that the samples featured on them were only cleared for physical media distribution.

In 2017, the trio’s catalogue was purchased by Tommy Boy Records and set for digital release, however, a royalties dispute with the label further delayed this. In 2021, after Tommy Boy was acquired by Reservoir Media, De La Soul announced they’d come to an agreement that enabled them to digitally release their music (though the original timeline was for November that same year).

The hip-hop collective will be touring the UK in April, playing shows in London, Glasgow, Nottingham and Manchester. Tickets for the dates can be purchased here.

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