De La Soul‘s Trugoy the Dove (real name: David Jude Jolicoeur) has died at age 54, Pitchfork confirms. No cause of death has been given but he had been suffering from heart problems for a few years.
Growing up in Amityville, Long Island, Jolicoeur formed De La Soul in 1998 with friends Posdnuos and Maseo and put out their debut album, the instant classic and endlessly influential Three Feet High and Rising, the next year. The group went on to release nine solo albums, the most recent of which was 2016’s And the Anonymous Nobody.
Rest in peace, Trugoy.
De La Soul’s entire catalog will finally hit streaming on March 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2_XNP7Uo88