Condolences: Trugoy, one of the founding member of De La Soul, has passed at 54 young!
Born David Jolicoeur, Trugoy the Dove helped De La Soul become one of the singular, most innovative rap groups in history. David Jude Jolicoeur (September 21, 1968 – February 12, 2023), also known under the stage name Trugoy the Dove and more recently Dave, was an American rapper, producer, and one third of the hip hop trio De La Soul. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, but grew up in East Massapequa.
Jolicoeur, Vincent Mason and Kelvin Mercer were friends who attended the same high school in the Amityville area of Long Island during the 1980s. After they decided to form a rap group, each member re-christened themselves with an outlandish name (Trugoy the Dove, P.A. Pasemaster Mase and Posdnuos, respectively). Early on, Jolicoeur sported a unique style of African medallions, peace signs and uneven dreadlocks (known as the “De La Do”). Paired with the positive messages of the group’s debut effort, 3 Feet High and Rising, the image led to critics and journalists labelling the members as “the hippies of hip hop” (a title that the group was quick to refute with the release of the second album De La Soul Is Dead in 1991).
Jolicoeur is also a member of the Spitkicker collective. He is widely recognized for his rap in the second verse of the popular Gorillaz song “Feel Good Inc.”
Brothers Perspective Magazine 