By CLTure
February 12, 2023
David Jude Jolicoeur, best known by his stage name Trugoy the Dove, one-third of the legendary rap trio De La Soul, has passed away at the age of 54. Jolicoeur co-founded De La Soul in 1988 with high school friends Vincent Mason (Maseo) and Kelvin Mercer (Posdnuos) in Long Island, New York. Jolicoeur and De La Soul were also founding members of the influential ’90s hip-hop collective, Native Tongues.
De La Soul released their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, in 1989 (produced by Prince Paul) and it became both a critical and commercial success, ranking in Rolling Stone‘s list of 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (#103). Jolicoeur also co-wrote the hit song “Feel Good Inc.” with Damon Albarn of the Gorillaz, which went on to win Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 48th Grammy Awards.
The group’s first six albums are set to be made available on streaming services starting March 3, 2023, after several years of label disputes, and 34 years after their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was released.
De La Soul’s last performance in North Carolina as a group took place in Raleigh at Hopscotch Music Festival in 2014. The group headlined the opening night of the Downtown Raleigh festival in City Plaza alongside bands like Spoon, St. Vincent and Mastodon, who performed throughout the weekend.
There’s video of the De La Soul set captured on September 4, 2014 by Dan Schram for Hopscotch Music Festival.
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