Trugoy The Dove Death: De La Soul Co-Founder Dies At 54

David Jude Jolicoeur, prominently known by his stage name, Trugoy the Dove or Dave, passed away at the age of 54. 

Dave was the American rapper who founded one-third of the American hip-hop trio De La Soul, best known for their eclectic sampling and quirky lyrics. The group was formed in 1988 in Long Island, New York with the trio, Kelvin Mercer aka Posdnuos, Trugoy, and Vincent Lamont Mason Jr. aka Maseo. 

The news of the 54-year-old rapper’s demise was confirmed by the group’s representative on Sunday. At present, no additional details regarding the death were given out to the media. The only thing known to the masses is that the rapper has been struggling with his health over the past few years.

Trugoy The Dove Revealed His Health Condition Through Social Media

And earlier in 2018, Dave himself revealed his fight with congestive heart failure through an Instagram video and even opened up about his struggles with being sidelined.

Also, he mentioned his health and that he is being diagnosed with some health issues through the 2017 music video, De La Soul song “Royalty Capes.”

Dave, well known by the name Trugoy the Dove was born on September 21, 1968, in New York City. Although his parents were of Haitian-American origin, he grew up in the Long Island hamlet of East Massapequa. Apart from his career as a rapper, he is also a renowned producer and even a member of the Spitkicker collective. 

The trio of the hip-hop group De La Soul were friends from high school during the 80s and as they grew up they came together with the idea of forming a trio rap group. De La Soul was the result of the three friends’ hard work and efforts. 

>Related: Trugoy The Dove: Cause Of Death, Net Worth, Biography, And Personal Life

Also, while speaking about their stage names, Dave recently revealed a fun fact that his stage name, ‘Trugoy’ was backward for ‘yogurt.’ As discussed above, the trio group is known for its diverse sampling, unconventional lyrics, and contributions to the growth of the jazz rap and alternative hip-hop subgenres.

Their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was known as “a hip-hop masterpiece” as it had lively wordplay, imaginative sampling, and humorous skits. The album became a huge success in the industry and is considered the biggest commercial success of the band up to date and even received huge praise even from critics.  

In a recent video, Dave states that he is ready to get back to the stage and even opens up that he misses it so much. He even spoke about his love for traveling and how much he loves to be around his fellow members. The rapper opened up about how much he really wishes to get all those back which he stayed away from for a long time. 

At the recent Grammy night, a large hip-hop tribute was performed by artists including De La Soul member, Posdnuos. Even though Dave was also a part of it alongside his bandmates, he was absent from the event.

As the news of the sudden demise of the rapper started spreading all over the internet, tributes for the rapper have been showering all over social media. Fans and fellow artists of the late rapper are still in shock by the news and are offering their heartfelt condolences. 

Rapper Big Daddy Kane conveyed that he was honored with the chance to share numerous stages with Dave through his official Instagram account.

At the same time, rapper Erik Sermon shared through an Instagram post that it hurts to believe that Dave, one among them, has died.

He admits that Dave from Long Island had one of the best rap groups in Hip hop and added the hashtags # Delasoul #plug2. He concluded the post by saying that the late rapper will be missed by all very badly and that he is a great loss to the industry. 

According to DJ Semtex, the demise of Dave was “heart-wrenching news.” While on the other hand, Luke Cage’s showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker shared that the band, De La Soul meant so much to him and that the demise of one of its members is a great loss.