The album was a commercial and critical phenomenon, selling over a million copies and spawning the hit singles "Me Myself and I," "The Magic Number," and "Buddy." But the success came with a cost. A lawsuit over an uncleared sample from The Turtles' "You Showed Me" (used in their single "Transmitting Live from Mars") set a legal precedent that changed how sampling worked in hip-hop forever. The resulting settlement and the chilling effect on sample-based production forced De La Soul to evolve, but they never lost their creative edge. Their follow-up, "De La Soul Is Dead" (1991), was a deliberately darker, more abrasive record that confounded fans expecting more D.A.I.S.Y. Age cheerfulness — a bold pivot that demonstrated their refusal to be pigeonholed.

The 1990s saw De La Soul continue their creative evolution with "Buhloone Mindstate" (1993), a jazz-infused album that featured contributions from Maceo Parker and the JB Horns, and "Stakes Is High" (1996), a grittier, more street-oriented record that reflected their frustration with the direction of mainstream hip-hop. Throughout their career, they maintained a fiercely independent artistic vision, collaborating with fellow Native Tongues affiliates like A Tribe Called Quest and Queen Latifah while carving their own distinctive path through the genre.

De La Soul's catalog suffered from a notorious digital distribution problem for decades — sample clearance issues kept much of their early work off streaming services until 2023, when they finally reached a deal with Tommy Boy Records. The long-overdue arrival of their classic albums on streaming platforms introduced a new generation to their groundbreaking music. Their legacy is immeasurable: they expanded hip-hop's sonic vocabulary, proved that rap could be playful, intellectual, and experimental without sacrificing authenticity, and remained true to their vision across four decades. In a genre that often rewards conformity, De La Soul chose weirdness, and the weirdness won.