It’s been a long wait for fans since 2012’s Plug 1 & Plug 2 Present… First Serve, but in 2016 De La Soul are returning in full force.
After announcing a new crowdfunded album in May, which includes collaborations from Snoop Dogg, Usher, Damon Albarn, 2 Chainz and more, a new track has emerged from an unlikely source.
Titled Action, this latest cut comes courtesy of an update for Angry Birds Action!, a spin-off of the popular gaming franchise. The game-exclusive track (a portion of which can be heard at the close of the game’s trailer) is not the group’s only appearance. De La Soul will also be making in-game cameos, providing “special powers” to the player.
It seems that the group are themselves avid Angry Birds gamers. “We are fans of the game, so we were very happy to be involved,” Pos (Kelvin Mercer) shared. The collaboration might seem a bit out of place for more stern faced hip hop groups, but this sort of cameo seems in keeping with the group’s goofball attitude.
As apps continue to become enmeshed in our everyday lives and the album format continues to wane, appearances like this beg the question whether game-exclusive releases are going to become more common.
The group’s new album And the Anonymous Nobody is set to drop August 26. De La Soul will also be visiting Australia later this year to headline Return to Rio in November.
Image: HipHopGoldenAge