LONG ISLAND (CelebrityAccess) – Trugoy the Dove (born David Jude Jolicoeur), one of the founding members of the Long Island Hip-Hop trio De La Soul has died. The news of his death was confirmed by the group’s publicist Tony Ferguson on Sunday (February 12). No cause of death was reported, although he had struggled in recent years with congestive heart failure. He was 54.
Jolicoeur was born in Brooklyn in 1968 and raised in Long Island’s hamlet of East Massapequa to Haitian-American parents. Jolicoeur and De La Soul members Vincent Manson, known as Pasemaster Mase, and Kelvin Mercer, known as Posdnuos, formed the rap trio in 1988 after attending high school together in Amityville, New York. After catching the ear of producer Prince Paul, the group released their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising in 1989 via Tommy Boy.
During a time of gangsta rap, the group set themselves apart with a softer, gentler sound – blending jazz and funk samples with lyrical symbolism and had a huge impact on the Hip-Hop scene. In 2010, 3 Feet High and Rising was added to the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for its historic significance. A song from that album, “The Magic Number” played over the end credits for Spider-man: No Way Home in 2021.
“It’s a hip-hop masterpiece for the era in which it was released,” Jolicoeur told Billboard magazine in early 2023. “I think the innocence that we had back then was brave, but we were in a time where innocence was so cool.”
The trio released eight albums throughout their career and was nominated for six Grammy Awards, winning in 2006 for Best Pop Vocal Collaboration for the Gorillaz song, “Feel Good Inc.” De La Soul was honored at this year’s Grammy Awards during the hip-hop tribute covering five decades of the music genre. Jolicoeur, however, did not take the stage with his bandmates for the tribute.
De La Soul’s back catalog will finally hit streaming services after years of litigation with Tommy Boy Records. However, once Reservoir Media acquired its catalog in 2021, it was cleared for their music to stream on several platforms. According to Billboard, the group’s first six albums will be available in March.
After hearing about De La Soul’s catalog coming to digital streaming platforms, longtime fan Pharrell reflected on their influence to The Guardian. “The De La tribe were the forefathers and founders of the way we see things,” he said earlier this year. “I was nearly 16 when 3 Feet High and Rising came out. It was a total game-changer. It changed my life, period. Would I like to work with them? I would do anything for them, they know that. If they don’t, they should.”
Tributes have poured in on social media after the news broke of Trugoy’s death with Pharrell, Chuck D, Maxwell, A-Trak, Jenny Lewis, and more. RIP
Trugoy Dave from De La Soul has gone up ⬆️ to be with the day of the stars with the Master.
Sending love, light, and positive vibrations to his family, The Soul and everyone whose lives have been touched by his existence.
Oodles and Oodles and Oodles of O’s ✨🔥💛🎢🙌🏾🍯❤️🩹🙏🏾— Pharrell Williams (@Pharrell) February 13, 2023
#RestInBeats my Bro #Dave #Trugoy #DeLaSoul forever @hiphopgods pic.twitter.com/bS5thhyOA1
— Chuck D (@MrChuckD) February 12, 2023
RIP TRUGOY of DE LA SOUL. A PIONEER!
— JPEGMAFIA (@jpegmafia) February 12, 2023
