hip-hop radio host, Monica Lynch managed the careers of Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, Stetsasonic, Queen Latifah, De La Soul, Naughty by Nature among others. The label had several joint ventures in the mid 1990s including Penalty Recordings, Stepsun, Beyond, and Ignition. The label also had deals with labels such as Timber Records and distribution deals with Outcaste Records and 75 Ark, while also giving independent distribution to sister imprints that already had label deals with WEA, including American Recordings' Ill Labels, Mute Records' NovaMute, and Cold Chillin Records' Livin' Large. In 1997, Tommy Boy launched an imprint label called Upaya to pursue the growing interest in spirituality and spiritual/world music. The imprint Tommy Boy Gospel was launched in 1998 under the direction of Max Seigel and Marvie Wright. That same year, the imprints Tommy Boy Black Label, which specialized in underground hip hop music, and Tommy Boy Silver Label, which specialized in dance music, were founded. In 2001, while still affiliated with Warner Music, Tommy Boy Records founder Tom Silverman formed Tommy Boy Films, a TV and film division with Kung Faux creator and Dubtitled Entertainment founder, Michael "Mic" Neumann. 2002–2017: Independent again In 2002, Tommy Boy Records became independent again after it ultimately ended its joint venture with Warner Bros. Records, which wanted greater unit sales, and the master tapes released until that time became property of Warner Music, while the Tommy Boy trademark remained with Tom Silverman. The then-current Tommy Boy music artists were shopped to the various WEA labels, the Tommy Boy television and film divisions were merged with the Tommy Boy music division, and the resulting company was rebranded as Tommy Boy Entertainment. Tommy Boy then began licensing its trademark to Warner Music for use on reissues through Rhino/Atlantic Records. 2017–2018: Catalogues acquired In 2017, because of Warner Music's divestment requirements as a result of its purchase of Parlophone, Tommy Boy was able to reacquire its pre-2002 catalogue and the catalogues of Brand Nubian, Grand Puba, and Club Nouveau. In 2018, Tommy Boy also acquired Amherst Records, Harlem Music, and Halwill Music, which hold masters and publishing rights for a diverse collection of ’70s Soul, Disco, and Jazz artists including The Stylistics, Van McCoy, and Glenn Medeiros. 2019–2020: De La Soul controversy Controversy rose in early 2019, after Tommy Boy announced that the catalog of its formerly signed group De La Soul would be available