David Jolicoeur, founding member of De La Soul dies aged 54
Also known as Trugoy the Dove and Dave, the Long Island rapper had an influential impact on hip hop in the 80s and 90s
Founding member of De La Soul, David Jolicoeur, has died aged 54.
According to AllHipHop, Jolicoeur had been suffering from ill health for some time, releasing a video in 2018 revealing he had been battling with congestive heart failure.
“I’m ready just to get back to the stage,” he reportedly said in the same video. “I miss that. I love traveling. I love being around my guys and I want that back.”
In 2020, a post from De La Soul’s live stream showed Jolicoeur appearing to be in hospital.
Jolicoeur - also known as Trugoy the Dove and Dave - began De La Soul in Long Island alongside Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer) and Maseo (Vincent Lamont Mason Jr) in the late 80s.
Over the years, the group was nominated for six GRAMMY Awards, and Jolicoeur won Best Pop Vocal Collaboration for the Gorillaz song 'Feel Good Inc'.
Last week the trio were honoured at the GRAMMY Awards in a tribute performance to hip hop.
Tributes have poured in for the hip hop legend from the likes of Big Daddy Kane who has tweeted on the news: “Dave! It was a honor to share so many stages with you”.
Cypress Hill’s B Real tweeted: “We lost another legend of hip hop music and culture in my brother Trugoy aka Dave of De La Soul. His music will allow him to live in our hearts and minds as he is gone. But not only was he a great musician but he was a great human being. He meant a lot to us”.
Next month, De La Soul will be celebrating 34 years since the release of their debut album ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ with a digital release of their full catalogue for the first ever time.
Listen to De La Soul’s ‘Me, Myself and I’ below.
Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Video and Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter