David Jude Jolicoeur, who went by the stage name Trugoy the Dove and was a member of the groundbreaking rap group De La Soul, has passed away.
CNN has been informed by the band’s publicist, Tony Ferguson, of the news. Age-wise, Jolicoeur was 54. In a telephone interview with CNN, Ferguson described Jolicoeur’s death as “a terrible loss.” The official report did not include a breakdown of what killed the person.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Jolicoeur is widely recognized as a pivotal figure in the development of mellower, more introspective hip-hop throughout the era spanning the decades between 1980 and the early 2000s.
After meeting in high school in Amityville, New York, in 1988, Vincent Manson (as Pasemaster Mase), Kelvin Mercer (aka Posdnuos), and Jolicoeur created the rap group De La Soul.
In 1989, De La Soul released their debut album titled “3 Feet High and Rising,” which contained the single “Me, Myself and I,” which stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 list for 17 consecutive weeks.
Several groups, including A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy, and N.W.A., tried to imitate the album’s interlude skits, conceptual sound, and samplings of James Brown’s music. Jolicoeur told Billboard last month, “I believe the element of what was taking on in music, hip-hop, and our culture, I think it embraced that and opened up minds and spirits to view and try new various things.”
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After being nominated for six Grammys, De La Soul finally took home the prize in 2006 for “Feel Good Inc.” as the year’s best musical collaboration with vocals.
In 2021’s “Spider-man: No Way Home,” the band’s song “The Magic Number,” off their debut album “3 Feet High and Rising,” played during the film’s closing credits.
Despite the song’s prominent role in “No Way Home,” which sparked new interest in the hip-hop pioneers, it has been unavailable on streaming sites for decades owing to legal issues around sample clearances with De La Soul’s old company, Tommy Boy Records.
Now that the iconic trio’s back catalog has been purchased by Reservoir Media in 2021, their songs may be heard on all the major streaming platforms at long last. Billboard reports that the band’s first six albums will be made available via streaming services in March of 2023.
Jolicoeur and De La Soul’s 2016 CD “And the Anonymous Nobody…” is the most recent joint effort by the two groups.
Originally, on April 8, 2023, De La Soul was set to do three gigs in the UK.
Singer Pharell Williams paid homage to Trugoy Dave of De La Soul on Twitter, writing, “Trugoy Dave has gone up to be with the day of the stars with the Master.” Positive thoughts and prayers are being sent out to his loved ones, The Soul, and everyone else whose life he has impacted.
Erick Sermon, a rapper and record producer, also paid tribute to Jolicoeur on Instagram, writing, “This one hurts. You will be missed, Dave, from Long Island’s # Delasoul #plug2, one of Hip Hop’s finest rap groups. RIP”