HIP-HOP AT 50: "ROUND TRIP (FOR DAVE)"

De La Soul's Posdnuos eulogizes the trio's Trugoy The Dove (aka Dave or Plug 2) on Statik Selektah's new single, "Round Trip (For Dave)." The melancholic track arrived Friday (6/9) as part of the lauded hip-hop producer's latest album, Round Trip. Throughout the song, Pos reflects on his feelings surrounding Trugoy's death on 2/13.

"Bittersweet blessings, condolences and congrats/In the same sentence while my life learns the lesson," he raps. "I cry quiet so the knot in my chest is hard to untie but thankfully the heart keeps pressin'/My brother left on his return ticket so the pieces of our heart/I guess so we're left to pick it/His round trip journey returned him to the source/So most would think we been derailed off the course but/No matter how sad the fire in our eyes can't be doused out."

"Round Trip (For Dave)" marks the first time Pos has addressed Trugoy The Dove's death on wax. While Trugoy had been wrestling with several health issues over the years—including congestive heart failure and diabetes—his death was still unexpected. Just 54, Trugoy was preparing for what was expected to be a huge year for De La Soul at the time. Following years of stalled negotiations with their former label, Tommy Boy Records, De La Soul's initial six albums were uploaded to DSPs on 3/3—for the first time ever. But Trugoy wasn't there to witness it, at least not in the physical sense. On 3/2, Amazon Music held what morphed into a makeshift memorial for Trugoy at Webster Hall in New York City, where Pos, Maseo and their friends were able to collectively mourn.

"Round Trip (For Dave)" arrives just ahead of our Black Music Month issue, which includes features on both De La Soul and affiliated hip-hop Native Tongues. Listen to the track below and try not to cry.