David Jolicoeur obituary

Founding member of the US hip-hop trio De La Soul who performed under the stage name Trugoy the Dove

De La Soul’s debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), was a milestone in the history of rap. Arriving at a time when the medium was widely regarded as a forum for violence and rage, thanks to confrontational albums such as NWA’s Straight Outta Compton and Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, De La Soul presented a more accessible alternative.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/14/david-jolicoeur-obituary

It duly became popular with mainstream and college audiences, reaching No 24 on the US album chart and No 13 in the UK. The single Me Myself and I topped the US R&B chart and was a major hit around the world.

David Jolicoeur, who has died aged 54 after suffering from congestive heart problems for several years, was one of De La Soul’s founding trio, performing under the stage name Trugoy the Dove. This was derived from spelling “yogurt” backwards (it was his favourite food), while bandmate Kelvin Mercer called himself Posdnuos, the reverse spelling of his DJ name, Sound-sop. The third member Vincent Mason was known merely as Mase.

Don't know a whit of this late fella's body of work, and at age 54 one can't say he died of old age...but if death has to come to a given hip-hopster, then it's gratifying to learn one expired from natural causes; appreciate the posting, Sir Rhodes.

BRYAN STYBLE/Florida

Another tough personal loss, as I knew David
(and Pos and Mase) well since we put out
their records for the first ten years
(ironically De La Soul were among those whom
I had in mind when I reported in an earlier
thread about labelmate Coolio's untimely
passing that most of our roster was still
alive and well at ages 50+, compared to the
rash of unknowns and wannabes dying at an
early age). The initial paragraph below is
quite misleading, as the rap genre itself
had not yet earned the reputation the author
claims, even with the two albums cited which
were significant aberrations therein at the
time; that rep would come years later.
Nonetheless, De La Soul's original efforts
were unique and innovative in the genre as it
existed then (still mostly reflecting its
party roots) and today stand far above most
of what has come out in the last 30 years.
The "founding" term incorrectly implies that
the group underwent membership and formation
changes; in fact there were only ever the
original three members, although they often
collaborated with other guest artists on
various tracks.

On 2/14/2023 6:48 PM, Michael Rhodes wrote:
> David Jolicoeur obituary
>
> Founding member of the US hip-hop trio De La Soul who performed under the stage name Trugoy the Dove
>
> De La Soul’s debut album, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), was a milestone in the history of rap. Arriving
> at a time when the medium was widely regarded as a forum for violence and rage, thanks to confrontational
> albums such as NWA’s Straight Outta Compton and Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us
> Back, De La Soul presented a more accessible alternative.
>
> https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/14/david-jolicoeur-obituary
>
> It duly became popular with mainstream and college audiences, reaching No 24 on the US album chart and
> No 13 in the UK. The single Me Myself and I topped the US R&B chart and was a major hit around the world.
>
> David Jolicoeur, who has died aged 54 after suffering from congestive heart problems for several years,
> was one of De La Soul’s founding trio, performing under the stage name Trugoy the Dove. This was derived
> from spelling “yogurt” backwards (it was his favourite food), while bandmate Kelvin Mercer called himself
> Posdnuos, the reverse spelling of his DJ name, Sound-sop. The third member Vincent Mason was known merely
> as Mase.
>

On Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 1:55:12 AM UTC-5, David Samuel Barr wrote:
> Another tough personal loss, as I knew David
> (and Pos and Mase) well since we put out
> their records for the first ten years
> (ironically De La Soul were among those whom
> I had in mind when I reported in an earlier
> thread about labelmate Coolio's untimely
> passing that most of our roster was still
> alive and well at ages 50+, compared to the
> rash of unknowns and wannabes dying at an
> early age). The initial paragraph below is
> quite misleading, as the rap genre itself
> had not yet earned the reputation the author
> claims, even with the two albums cited which
> were significant aberrations therein at the
> time; that rep would come years later.
> Nonetheless, De La Soul's original efforts
> were unique and innovative in the genre as it
> existed then (still mostly reflecting its
> party roots) and today stand far above most
> of what has come out in the last 30 years.

Thanks for that remembrance, David.
While I was never a big hip hop fan, De La Soul's debut album was a breath of fresh air to me back then - so dynamic and entertaining. And they were the first rap act that this nerdy white suburban kid could relate to.

On 2/15/2023 9:04 AM, Diner wrote:
> On Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 1:55:12 AM UTC-5, David Samuel Barr wrote:
>> Another tough personal loss, as I knew David
>> (and Pos and Mase) well since we put out
>> their records for the first ten years
>> (ironically De La Soul were among those whom
>> I had in mind when I reported in an earlier
>> thread about labelmate Coolio's untimely
>> passing that most of our roster was still
>> alive and well at ages 50+, compared to the
>> rash of unknowns and wannabes dying at an
>> early age). The initial paragraph below is
>> quite misleading, as the rap genre itself
>> had not yet earned the reputation the author
>> claims, even with the two albums cited which
>> were significant aberrations therein at the
>> time; that rep would come years later.
>> Nonetheless, De La Soul's original efforts
>> were unique and innovative in the genre as it
>> existed then (still mostly reflecting its
>> party roots) and today stand far above most
>> of what has come out in the last 30 years.
>
> Thanks for that remembrance, David.
> While I was never a big hip hop fan, De La
> Soul's debut album was a breath of fresh air
> to me back then - so dynamic and entertaining.
> And they were the first rap act that this
> nerdy white suburban kid could relate to.

Maybe in part because they were nerdy black
suburban kids (from Lawn Guyland)? :)