Trugoy the Dove, founding member of the iconic U.S. hip-hop trio De La Soul, has passed away at the age of 54.
The group's publicist, Tony Ferguson, revealed the star, real name David Jolicoeur, died on Sunday. He gave no further details.
The late artist had previously disclosed his struggle with congestive heart failure. He was not onstage with his bandmates during the hip-hop tribute performance at the Grammy Awards earlier this month.
Trugoy the Dove, born in 1968 in Brooklyn to Haitian-American parents, spent his childhood in the small community of East Massapequa on Long Island. In high school, he formed a lifelong bond with fellow students, Kelvin Mercer (stage name Posdnuos) and Vincent Mason (stage name Maseo), who would later become the other two members of De La Soul.
In 1988, the trio officially formed De La Soul and their early demo caught the attention of local producer, Prince Paul. Their first album, 3 Feet High and Rising, was released in 1989 and quickly became their most commercially successful record.
They went on release eight more albums, from 1991's De La Soul Is Dead to And the Anonymous Nobody... in 2016.
On social media, Public Enemy's Chuck D shared a video of him with Trugoy and wrote, "#RestInBeats my Bro #Dave #Trugoy #DeLaSoul forever."
Meanwhile, rapper Big Daddy Kane wrote, "Rest well Dave! It was a honor to share so many stages with you (sic)," and fellow hip-hop star Erick Sermon commented, "This one hurts. From Long Island from one of the best rap groups in Hiphop # Delasoul #plug2 Dave has passed away you will be missed… RIP."
