De La Soul legend Trugoy The Dove, also known as Dave or Dave Jolicoeur, has died, AllHipHop confirmed. He was 54. Details are scarce, but Trugoy has been struggling with his health over the past few years. In 2018, Trugoy opened up about his battle with congestive heart failure in an Instagram video and admitted he was struggling with being sidelined.
“I’m ready just to get back to the stage,” he said at the time. “I miss that. I love traveling. I love being around my guys and I want that back.”
In 2020, he again sparked concern when he was briefly hospitalized. He appeared to be in good spirits, however, and was able to have an Instagram Live conversation with his De La Soul brethren, Posdnuos and Maseo.
It was expected to be a giant year for De La Soul. The talented trifecta has been fighting to get their first six albums on streaming services after a years of stalled negotiations with Tommy Boy Records, their former label. But last year, Reservoir Media wound up acquiring the Tommy Boy catalog and wanted to help rectify the situation.
After more than three decades, their groundbreaking debut 3 Feet High & Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate, Stakes Is High, Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump and AOI: Bionix will finally be available on all DSPs on March 3.
In an interview with Rock The Bells last month, Posdnuos spoke on their hard-won victory, saying, “When we got together with the owners of Tommy Boy, every now and then, we’d make a few strides, then maybe all of us within the group wouldn’t trust in what was going on.
“Communications would be shut down for a few months. To get to the point where Reservoir has taken over the Tommy Boy catalog, they immediately reached out and they were like, ‘Look man, we have control of this. Let’s work it out.’ It was a whole different feeling, a better energy.
“Let’s be honest. They didn’t have to do it. It was just great to know they did take the time to work this out with us, but it’s been a journey. Once it was worked out, we still had to get all the business, all the affairs handled and now here we are.”
But now, it all feels bittersweet without all three members able to celebrate the momentous occasion. (Originally published on AllHipHop.)
