De La Soul to Release Rare ‘Clear Lake Audiotorium’ EP Featuring A Tribe Called Quest

Legendary hip-hop group De La Soul is planning to dig in the crates.

De La Soul took to Instagram to announce the release of Clear Lake Audiotorium, a six-track EP originally distributed as a promo release to DJs back in in 1994.

“Originally pressed in 1994 as an exclusive promotional release for select DJs, Clear Lake Audiotorium has achieved near-mythical status among collectors,” the group wrote in a caption. The album includes four tracks from the Buhloone Mindstate era, with two rare collaborations: “sh.Fe.Mc’s” featuring A Tribe Called Quest and “Stix & Stonz” with contributions from Tito of The Fearless Four, Grandmaster Caz, LA Sunshine of the Treacherous Three and Prince Whipper Whip.”

According to sites like Vinyl, Me Please, only 500 copies were originally pressed. Four of the songs — “In the Woods,” “I Am I Be,” “Patti Dooke” and “I Be Blowin’” — also made appearances on the their 1993 album Buhloone Mindstate, while their track “sh.Fe.Mc’s” with Tribe eventually found a home on the 30th-anniversary edition as a bonus song.

The group representing Strong Island, fought long and hard to gain control of their catalog as they negotiated with their former label Tommy Boy for a way to get their music available on streaming services. They were finally able to make their back catalog available for fans in March 2023 thanks to Reservoir Media purchasing Tommy Boy. De La Soul chronicled the process of formatting their music for the digital age in the documentary Chapter 3.

Clear Lake Audiotorium will be made available on March 7, 2025. Fans can pre-order the digital version and limited-edition CD & vinyl now here.