The iconic hip-hop group De La Soul has condemned a new book about it as “unauthorized.”

The group posted about Marcus J. Moore’s High and Rising: A Book About De La Soul, published Tuesday by Dey Street, on the social platform X: “[W]e want to make it absolutely clear: this is an unauthorized book, and we are not connected to it in any way.”

Moore’s book tells the story of the trio, which formed in 1988 and released its first album, 3 Feet High and Rising, in 1989; it’s also an account of Moore’s own coming-of-age. A critic for Kirkus praised the book as “an affecting memoir of a music journalist’s lifelong relationship with an eccentric rap trio.” The group consists of Kelvin Mercer and Vincent Mason; co-founding member David Jolicoeur died last year at 54.

“If you choose to support this book, that’s your right,” De La Soul said in its statement. “We just want it to be clear that we do not and we are exploring all of our legal options.” It is unclear what those legal options might be; it’s not against the law to publish a book about a group without its permission.

De La Soul’s post sparked backlash on social media. On X, author Shanita Hubbard wrote, “This is a tribute book. One of the best music journalists in the game dedicated four years of his life to give well-deserved flowers to De La Soul. This is such a disappointment response.”

And writer Charles L. Hughes posted, “It’s really disappointing to see De La Soul go after Marcus J. Moore, a great and thoughtful writer who doesn't deserve it. I’m very excited to read his book, which looks to be the kind of deep, engagement that DLS’s music certainly *does* deserve.”

Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.