TRUGOY THE DOVE,
1968-2023

De La Soul's Dave Jolicoeur—better known as Trugoy The Dove or Plug 2—died in Maryland on Sunday (2/12). He was 54. While no specific cause of death was revealed, Jolicoeur had been battling congestive heart failure since at least 2018. He was also diabetic.

Hailing from New York City, De La Soul, members of the Native Tongues collective, disrupted the hip-hop landscape in 1989 with their seminal debut, 3 Feet High & Rising. With the sonic wizardry of producer Prince Paul, De La Soul helped usher in the "D.A.I.S.Y. Age"—"D.A.I.S.Y." stood for "Da Inner Sound, Y'all"—which further propelled the group's sanguine style of hip-hop to the forefront. Full of comedic pop-culture references, their lighthearted music was in stark contrast to the often violent gangsta rap artists like N.W.A and Ice-T were peddling on the West Coast.

The follow-up to 3 Feet High & Rising, 1991's De La Soul Is Dead, attempted to squash its "hippie" reputation with more mature content. The album cover depicted a broken flower pot in an effort to symbolize the death of the D.A.I.S.Y. Age.

The group released seven additional studio albums, culminating in 2016's ...And the Anonymous Nobody, an amalgamation of styles, genres and guests. Gorillaz' Damon Albarn, Snoop Dogg, Usher and Talking Heads' David Byrne were among the many who sprinkled their musical magic on the project. The album was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Rap Album category the following year at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

And though De La Soul managed to continue touring the world and selling albums, behind the scenes they were embroiled in a contentious battle with Tommy Boy Music over their catalog. It came to a head in 2019 when De La Soul put the label on blast for essentially blocking its ability to post its first six albums to DSPs. After years of stalled negotiations, the group finally found something to celebrate in 2021: Reservoir Music acquired Tommy Boy's catalog and sought to remedy the situation. Finally, all six Tommy Boy albums—3 Feet High & Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, Artificial Intelligence: Mosaic Thump and AOI: Bionix—will be available to stream on 3/3.

Jolicoeur's bandmates, Maseo and Posdnuos, have yet to speak publicly about his death. Prince Paul, however, did issue a brief statement on Twitter, writing, "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."