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De La Soul’s David Jolicoeur, Who Rapped as Trugoy the Dove, Dies at 54
De La Soul burst onto the hip-hop scene in 1989 with their debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising, at a time when the genre was still in its formative years. While groups like Public Enemy and N.W.A. dominated the spotlight with their powerful critiques of racism, police brutality, and systemic neglect of Black communities in America, De La Soul offered a starkly different approach.
Hailing from Long Island, the trio embraced a quirky, colorful aesthetic, as seen in the high school-themed music video for their track “Me Myself and I.” In contrast to the tough, uniformed B-boy look of gold chains, black shades, and matching outfits, De La Soul sported floral prints, eccentric fashion, and a playful irreverence.
David Jolicoeur—known initially as Trugoy the Dove, later as Plug Two, Dove, and simply Dave—opened “Me Myself and I” with memorable lines that set the tone for their unique identity:
“Mirror, mirror on the wall, tell me mirror, what is wrong?
Can it be my De La clothes, or is it just my De La song?”
The album, featuring singles like “Say No Go” and “Eye Know,” reached only No. 24 on the Billboard 200, but it quickly became a classic, heralding a fresh direction for hip-hop. De La Soul continued their innovative streak with subsequent albums like De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), and Stakes Is High (1996). Together with producer Prince Paul, they crafted a distinctive sound characterized by eclectic, unconventional samples that expanded hip-hop’s sonic possibilities.
3 Feet High and Rising included not only funk staples from acts like Funkadelic and the Ohio Players but also unexpected elements, such as snippets from old TV shows and recordings of French lessons. However, the album’s creative brilliance was marred by legal troubles. One notable instance involved their use of the Turtles’ 1968 hit “You Showed Me,” which had not been fully cleared. The ensuing lawsuit became a landmark case in sampling rights and was ultimately settled out of court.
Despite such challenges, De La Soul’s groundbreaking approach cemented their legacy as pioneers in hip-hop, pushing the boundaries of creativity and expression within the genre.
A long overdue love letter to the library
Ongoing legal issues with sampling rights have prevented the band from releasing their music digitally, effectively locking out the third most important music market of the 21st century. Recently, the group finally cleared the samples and is preparing to release their music digitally in March. The group’s light-hearted style – jokes and lyrics that can be irreverent or serious – have impressed fans and critics alike. He was one of the first hip-hop artists to join the college crowd and earned the reputation of “thinking hip-hoppers”, as the critic Greg Tate put it in his review of “Buhloone Mindstate” in the New York Times . Mr. Tate wrote, “With disrespect and illusion,” said Mr. Tate wrote, “De La Soul had the courage to go where few hip-hop acts would follow, abandoning the polemic Five Percent and gangster rap for songs on many topics. : ecology, baby addiction. , country, roller skating, fan abuse, gender anxiety, and even field work as examples of hip-hop.
“Every last poem is read in the afternoon,” Mr. Jolicoeur rapped as Trugoy – concentrated yogurt, for favorite food. “Focused, let your Polaroids click / As they catch the smell of the evil noise called / Plug Tunin’.”
De La Soul went on to lead what was known as vernacular, a collective of foreign hip-hop groups such as A Tribe Called Quest and the Jungle Brothers, which influenced artists such as Mos Def and Common .
In addition to the visuals, De La Soul is very innovative in adding skits—conversations between songs—on its albums. In the Living of the 1989 of the red-colored person and the team “seems to have a smile – where they need to be as much as they are, even if they The taste of the most exciting line is charged about a trogoy status as a virgin. ”
For years, De La Soul’s music was absent from digital platforms, limiting its reach to new audiences. “We’re in the Library of Congress, but we’re not on iTunes,” David Jolicoeur lamented in a 2016 interview with The Times. In 2014, disillusioned by ongoing rights issues, the group made much of their catalog available for free online to thank their fans. Their 2016 album, And the Anonymous Nobody…, marked a significant return, funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised over $600,000. The album was widely acclaimed.
Despite these challenges, De La Soul maintained a devoted following among fans and fellow artists. In 2005, the group collaborated with Gorillaz on the global hit Feel Good Inc., a project led by British musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Jolicoeur recorded the track alongside Albarn, and the song climbed to No. 2 in the UK and No. 14 in the US, further cementing De La Soul’s cross-generational appeal.
In a 2016 interview, Jolicoeur expressed the trio’s desire to reintroduce their classic works to the public. “This music needs to be heard and shared,” he emphasized. “It has to happen. When? We’ll see. And where? That’s to be determined.”
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