David Jude Jolicoeur, known as Trugoy the Dove and one of the founding members of the Long Island hip-hop trio De La Soul, has died. He was 54.
His representative Tony Ferguson confirmed the reports on Sunday. No other information was immediately available.
In recent years, Jolicoeur had said he was battling congestive heart failure, living with a LifeVest machine affixed to his body. De La Soul was part of the hip-hop tribute at the Grammy Awards last week, but Trugoy was not on stage with his fellow bandmates.
Photo: AFP
Tributes poured in on social media shortly after the news broke on Sunday.
“Dave! It was a honor to share so many stages with you,” rapper Big Daddy Kane wrote on Instagram.
“This one hurts. From Long Island from one of the best rap groups in Hiphop #Delasoul #plug2 Dave has passed away you will be missed… RIP,” rapper Erik Sermon wrote on Instagram.
“Rest in peace my brother. You were loved. @plugwondelasoul I love you brother we are here for you. Smiles I love you bro. This is crazy,” Young Guru wrote.
Meanwhile, DJ Semtex said that it was “heart wrenching news.”
“You don’t understand what De La Soul means to me. Their existence said to me, a black geek from Connecticut that yes, hip-hop belongs to you too, and Trugoy was the balance, McCartney to Pos Lennon, Keith to his Mick. This is a huge loss,” showrunner Luke Cage wrote on Twitter.
Jolicoeur was born in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in the Amityville area of Long Island, where he met Vincent Mason — Pasemaster Mase — and Kelvin Mercer — Posdnuos — and the three decided to form a rap group, with each taking on distinctive names.
Trugoy, Jolicoeur had said, is “yogurt” spelled backwards. More recently he had been going by Dave.
De La Soul’s debut studio album 3 Feet High and Rising, produced by Prince Paul, was released in 1989 by Tommy Boy Records, and praised for being a more lighthearted and positive counterpart to charged rap offerings such as N.W.A’s Straight Outta Compton and Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions released one year earlier.
Sampling everyone from Johnny Cash and Steely Dan to Hall & Oates, De La Soul signaled the beginning of alternative hip-hop.
In Rolling Stone, critic Michael Azerrad called it the first “psychedelic hip-hop record.”
Some even called them a hippie group, which the members did agree with.
In 2010, 3 Feet High and Rising was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for its historic significance.
They followed with De La Soul Is Dead in 1991, which was a bit darker and more divisive with critics, and Stakes is High in 1996.
De La Soul released eight albums, and next month were going to make their streaming service debut on Spotify, Apple Music and others, after a long battle with Tommy Boy Records about legal and publishing matters.
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