De La Soul

David Jolicoeur went by the name Trugoy the Dove and was notably absent from last week's Grammy's.

It included hits The Magic Number and Me, Myself and I. "His music will allow him to live in our hearts and minds," he wrote. "But not only was he a great musician but he was a great human being.

The music world pays tribute following the sad passing of the hugely influential De La Soul member.

"De La Soul means so much to me. Widely credited as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time, 3 Feet High… This is a huge loss." [the De La Soul J Files here](https://abclisten.page.link/Dqk4LATSHADigZZk9). Heartbroken by this one." "I love their whole body of work… A lot of what I did as an up & comer was built off of the courage they gave me to be different, to be creative, to be my authentic self. [De La Soul J Files](https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/programs/the-j-files/de-la-soul/10274756). De La Soul released several more projects in the 2010s, most notably And The Anonymous Nobody... Born David Jude Jolicoeur, Trugoy (an alias adopted from spelling 'yogurt' backwards) co-founded De La Soul in the Amityville area of Long Island, New York with high school friends Vincent Mason (Maseo) and Kelvin Mercer (Posdnous). "De La Soul are one of the top three greatest hip hop groups of all time," Chief Xcel – one half of equally revered hip hop group Blackalicious – told Double J back in 2015 for the [all-star Grammys hip hop tribute](https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/music-news/grammys-hip-hop-50-years-beyonce-kendrick-harry-styles-ll-cool-j/101937340).

A rapper and producer, Jolicoeur was a founding member of the hugely popular and innovative Long Island hip hop trio, which formed in 1988.

Jolicoeur was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Amityville area of Long Island, where he met Vincent Mason (Pasemaster Mase) and Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos). Rolling Stone critic Michael Azerrad called it the first “psychedelic hip-hop record”. In recent years, Jolicoeur had said he was battling congestive heart failure.

The sad news was confirmed by his team to AllHipHop, although an official cause of death has not yet been forthcoming.

[Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazineSubscribe to Rolling Stone magazine](https://au.rollingstone.com/subscribe-magazine/) Jolicoeur formed De La Soul with high school friends Vincent Mason (Maseo) and Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos), with the trio going on to be hailed as one of the defining hip hop groups of the ’90s. Jolicoeur’s passing comes as De La Soul were preparing for a big year in 2023.

Trugoy the Dove, a founding member of '90s hip-hop legends De La Soul, has died at the age of 54, as confirmed to multiple outlets.

[February 12, 2023] On Friday, 3rd March, the group’s first six records – from 3 Feet High and Rising to 2001’s AOI: Bionix – will be available physically, digitally and on streaming services. – aka Posdnuos and Maseo. In the video for De La Soul’s 2016 song A cause of death has not yet been disclosed. The news was first reported by [AllHipHop](https://allhiphop.com/exclusives/de-la-souls-trugoy-the-dove-has-died/), and has since been confirmed to multiple other outlets.

Rapper co-founded the legendary trio who changed the face of hip-hop in the late 80s and early 90s.

B Real – a rapper with the hip-hop group Cypress Hill – called Jolicoeur a “legend of hip hop music and culture … His music will allow him to live in our hearts and minds.” De La Soul forever.” “I’m ready just to get back to the stage,” he said. “A blessing we got a chance to unite again … “I miss it.”

De La Soul rapper David Jolicoeur has passed away aged 54. The founding member of the hip-hop group - whose stage name was Trugoy the Dove - had suffered ...

David Jolicoeur, one of the founding members of the hip-hop trio De La Soul, has passed away at the age of 54.

The move follows a lengthy effort to clear the hundreds of samples that De La Soul used on their early records. Trugoy The Dove, from legendary trio De La Soul has died… David Jolicoeur, one of the founding members of the hip hop trio De La Soul, has passed away at the age of 54.

Trugoy brought skill and care-free charisma to De La Soul's innovative music, which helped to usher in a new age of hip-hop. After years of legal disputes, ...

On the other hand, it also means that the next couple of weeks can serve as a celebration of Trugoy's life and legacy, culminating on March 3 when so much of De La's best work will finally be available again. Over the course of their early albums, beginning with Three Feet High and Rising and continuing with De La Soul Is Dead in 1991, Buhloone Mindstate in 1993 and Stakes Is High in 1996, De La became avatars for future generations of hip-hop nerds and geeks inspired by the group's commitment to creativity and cleverness. [ sampling practices](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-07-23-ca-392-story.html), and mostly with Tommy Boy. They shifted to an independent model after that and their output slowed considerably, releasing just two albums after 2004, most recently the crowd-funded and the Anonymous Nobody... The group recorded steadily from 1989 through 2001, when they released AOI: Bionix, the last of their six albums for Tommy Boy. 5, when De La Soul was feted as part of [this year's Grammy Awards'](https://www.npr.org/2023/02/05/1152837932/2023-grammy-awards-winners-beyonce) celebration of hip-hop's 50th anniversary, Trugoy was conspicuously absent from the proceedings. For all their humor, the group spent decades waging serious battles with the music industry, partly around their Their middle-class, suburban roots were an important part of their difference from most of the hip-hop landscape of the mid- and late-1980s when rap music was still associated with gritty, urban 'hoods like Compton in Los Angeles or New York's South Bronx and Queensbridge Projects. The gold chains and the macho s*** just wasn't all that anymore." Trugoy, in particular, felt like the group's irrepressible id, the embodiment of De La's D.A.I.S.Y. Dante Ross, an A&R representative who worked with them after they signed to Tommy Boy Records in 1987, told [Check the Technique](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/29811/check-the-technique-by-brian-coleman-introduction-by-ahmir-uestlove-thompson/) author Brian Coleman in 2007, "when De La Soul came in the game, there was just a changing of the guard. The most formative musical memory of my youth occurred 30,000 feet over central California in the summer of 1989.

As one-third of De La Soul alongside Kelvin “Posdnous” Mercer and DJ Vincent “Maseo” Mason, the Haitian American musician and producer who adopted names like “ ...

But when Posdnous appeared alone to rap “Buddy” during [the “Hip-Hop 50” tribute on the 2023 Grammy Awards](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grammy-awards-hip-hop-anniversary-tribute-rappers-list-1234674419/), something seemed amiss. [he discusses suffering from congestive heart failure](https://www.okayplayer.com/music/de-la-soul-royalty-capes-video.html), which limited his ability to tour and perform.) Occasionally he and De La reminded the world of their massive cultural influence, like starring on Gorillaz’ 2005 global hit “Feel Good Inc.,” which memorably centers on Dave’s cackling laughter; and that “Magic Number” drop on Into the Spider-Verse. During a 1989 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show, they segued from their Top 40 hit “Me Myself and I” to the B-side cut “It Ain’t Hip to Be Labeled a Hippie.” Two years later, they released the sarcastic and cynical 1991 masterwork De La Soul Is Dead, effectively dismembering their image as friendly prophets of the D.A.I.S.Y. Yet to label the trio as “nerds,” whether pejoratively or as a badge of honor, is to limit the scope of their Black expression. “I got questions about your life if you’re so ready to die,” he rapped on 1996’s “Long Island Degrees.” They memorably complained about “rap and bullshit,” yet also collaborated with R&B singer Vinia Mojica on the delightful single “A Rollerskating Jam Named ‘Saturdays.’” On Buhloone Mindstate, they chanted, “It might blow up, but it won’t go pop,” struggling to define success on everchanging terms. 12](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/de-la-soul-trugoy-the-dove-dead-obit-1234678463/) at the age of 54, helped revolutionize [hip-hop](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/hip-hop/) and change the course of popular music. As one-third of [De La Soul](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/de-la-soul/), alongside Kelvin “Posdnous” Mercer and DJ Vincent “Maseo” Mason, the Haitian American musician and producer who adopted names like “Jude,” “ [Trugoy](https://www.rollingstone.com/t/trugoy/) the Dove,” “Plug 2,” and, finally, just “Dave” expanded the art form in ways not seen before or since. He delivered masterclasses of dense, metaphorically rich lyrics, whether it’s the meditative deep-cut classic “I Am I Be” on Buhloone Mindstate, or the punchy conscious chants of “Church” from 2004’s The Grind Date. The concept of “alternative hip-hop” remains a subject of heated debate. “The early bird gets the worm in this Rotten Apple/But explore deeper, you’ll find a seed/Plant more, even get your mind free,” he rapped on the latter. They didn’t sound as cool and stylized as Rakim and KRS-One or boom with authority like LL Cool J and Run-DMC (the latter a huge influence). Meanwhile, Dave maintained the same leisurely “Plug 2” gait, even as he refined his cadences and words.

“We were all walking through Macy's to a local mall,” remembers MC and producer Dave Jolicoeur, “and I saw a Mickey-Mouse T-shirt with a big daisy on it. It ...

DAVE: We try to recapture that energy, and for a couple of old guys it’s funny, so we do it as best as we can, and it’s humorous and it’s silly. POS: As much as we appreciate and love “Me, Myself And I”, I think we’ve been very vocal about the fact we got tired of it, but “The Magic Number” really wasn’t a song like that. POS: That’s what was great about back then – we were just so open to anything because we were just so happy to be living our dream and doing what we wanted. DAVE: “The Magic Number” came out towards the end of our recording period of 3 Feet High And Rising, I don’t know if it was the very last song but I think it was towards the end of the recording process. Funnily enough, we just did a bunch of shows in the UK and Belgium and we do “The Magic Number” as one of the last songs, and the reaction to it was very fresh and genuine. So it was really simple to do with “The Magic Number”. And that’s what we did – there were probably a good 15 to 25 people in there at some points, and we’d be pulling people into the booth and saying, ‘Hey, go up and say that part.’ There was a big window by the mixing desk – the view was 36th and Broadway, and you could see the corner and everything going on. But the way we had things outlined, we always had room for more improvisational stuff, and being able to come up with some weird ideas on the spot. POS: When we came up with “The Magic Number”, we were working in Mase’s basement. There were different songs like “Three Is A Magic Number” or “The Letter A”. I actually talk about the Dugout on [1991’s] “Ring Ring Ring”: “party at the Dugout on Dixon Ave/Haven’t been to the jam in quite a while”. But for us it was a little different to how we planned on approaching it.

David Jude Jolicoeur, known widely as Trugoy the Dove and one of the founding members of pioneering US...

The 2021 acquisition of Tommy Boy Records by Reservoir, with masters from the likes of De La Soul, Queen Latifah and Naughty By Nature, helped move things along and the full catalogue was set to debut on March 3. Some even called them a hippie group, though the members didn't quite like that. 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.