David Jolicoeur, a founding member of the landmark rap trio De La Soul, has died at the age of 54.
His death was confirmed by his representatives on Sunday and was first reported by the music outlet AllHipHop. No cause of death was disclosed.
The musician – who commonly performed under the stage name Trugoy the Dove, and later in his career as Dave – had been open about his health issues.
In 2018 he discussed his struggle with congestive heart failure in a music video for the De La Soul song Royalty Capes. “I’m ready just to get back to the stage,” he said. “I miss it.”
He was noticeably absent at last week’s Grammys, where the group had previously won an award in 2006 for their Gorillaz collaboration Feel Good Inc.
At this year’s ceremony, De La Soul was honoured during an all-star hip-hop tribute spanning five decades of the genre – though Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer) was the only member of the group to perform, with a brief snippet of their hit Buddy.
Jolicoeur was born in 1968 in Brooklyn to Haitian-American parents and grew up in East Massapequa, a small community in Long Island.
He met Mercer and Vincent Mason – the other two members of De La Soul – in high school and the group formed in 1988.
An early demo caught the eye of a local producer, Prince Paul, and in 1989 the trio arrived with their first album, 3 Feet High and Rising – their most commercially successful record, and widely considered a masterpiece.
In their debut, they instantly differentiated themselves from their contemporaries with their eccentric wordplay and eclectic jazz and funk samples, which would become their staple.
Those samples changed the rap landscape – but they also landed the group in legal troubles.
One of the tracks on 3 Feet High and Rising, a skit titled Transmitting Live from Mars, featured an uncleared sample from the Turtles – who later sued them for $2.5m in 1991.
The case was settled out of court but their sample usages cast a long shadow on their career, preventing them from releasing their music on digital platforms.
Last month they announced that they had finally resolved their sample clearances and their back catalogue would be available to stream from 3 March.
There has also been speculation of new music after a photo emerged last year of the trio in the studio with their one-time champion Prince Paul.
“You have no idea how much pain in this last year,” the producer wrote on Twitter. “A blessing we got a chance to unite again … De La Soul forever.”
You have no idea how much pain in this last year . Dave love you bro ❤️ a blessing we got a chance to unite again .Divine power . Literally no words anymore 😪. De la soul forever 🙏🏽
— DJ Prince Paul (@DJPrincePaul) February 12, 2023
Tributes also flowed from other contemporaries. 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.”
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 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/5PlZWX65CF
— B Real ™ (@B_Real) February 12, 2023
De La Soul‘s Trugoy the Dove has died at age 54, just weeks before their music was set to arrive on streaming and digital platforms on March 3.
— Eric Alper 🎧 (@ThatEricAlper) February 12, 2023
One of the great rap groups of all time, and one thing is for sure: The world will fall in love with them all over again next month. pic.twitter.com/i3Bq9ywtG9
#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
