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Maseo Says De La Soul to Release ‘Art Official Intelligence III’ in 2011

Written by Tyler Hakes. Published: Wednesday, March 2, 2011.

Maseo Says De La Soul to Release 'Art Official Intelligence III' in 2011 Plug Three explains the state of new De La Soul music and tours, including a forthcoming third installment to the group’s Art Official Intelligence series.

De La Soul ain’t dead. At least, that’s what Maseo wants fans to know, according to a recent interview with Pedestrian TV. In the interview, Plug Three revealed that the group is working on new music and that they are planning the release of Art Official Intelligence III sometime this year.

“We’re definitely looking to put out a new album,” the De La Soul MC explained in the interview. “We’re definitely gonna come with Art Official Intelligence Part Three. The fans have been yearning for that.”

The MC explained that he cannot confirm a date for the release, but he did go so far as to promise it sometime this year. “We will promise you a record this year,” he told Pedestrian TV. “I can’t actually give you a date and time.” Maseo estimated that the album would probably drop sometime in the spring or summer. “It has to feel good. It has to feel right,” he said.

The album will mark the third installment in the stalled series, which began with the release of Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump in 2000. The series was intended to be followed up with two more albums within the same year, but it fell short after the second, Art Official Intelligence: Bionix, was finally released in late 2001. The proposed third installment was delayed, presumably stemming from issues at Tommy Boy Records, who had served as De La’s record label since their debut album.

The group seemed to move on from the series, releasing their latest effort, The Grind Date, in 2004 as a separate entity, not affiliated with the AOI series of albums.

In addition to this information, Maseo called on New York artists to stick to the style that the region is known for, rather than mimicking the style of other regions that may be faring well in the charts. “Let’s make New York records again,” he explained as part of the inspiration behind the group’s latest single, which they released on MySpace. “Let’s not make records like people down south or abroad.”

Art Official Intelligence III will mark the group’s eighth studio album. It’s unclear at this time whether the record will be affiliated with any labels and when it will be released. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Watch the full interview with Maseo below.