BMI Remembers Rapper/Songwriter Trugoy the Dove of De La Soul
BMI was saddened to learn of the passing of Trugoy the Dove of the groundbreaking band De La Soul. He was 54.
Trugoy, (a.k.a. David Jolicoeur), as one-third of the renowned Amityville, Long Island-based hip-hop trio, helped expand the parameters of the genre in the late ’80s and ’90s by infusing De La Soul’s playful, innovative music with elements of jazz and psychedelia, as well as setting a template via intricate wordplay and trailblazing use of samples. The band’s 1989 debut LP, 3 Feet High and Rising, was a radical departure from the hardcore rap of the era. Featuring singles like “Potholes in My Lawn, “Me Myself and I,” “Say No Go” and others, the album, considered a classic to this day, demonstrated hip-hop’s versatility.
De La Soul went onto record nine studio LPs. They were nominated for six GRAMMY awards and won the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals GRAMMY in 2006 for their single with Gorillaz, “Feel Good, Inc.” Trugoy also received BMI’s College Song of the Year, for co-writing that single, at the 2006 BMI London Awards.
Trugoy will be missed by his friends, fans and family at BMI.
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