Rapper Trugoy largely defined the sound of De La Soul with his lazy, rhythmic way of rapping.
His lyrics were sharp and full of self-mockery, but could also be philosophical and socially moved.

They were barely 20, the three college friends from Long Island who founded the rap group De La Soul in 1988, and who would permanently change the sound of hip-hop. Maseo, Posdnuos and Trugoy they called themselves, plus a trio of other nicknames. It was announced Sunday that David Jolicoeur, aka "Trugoy the Dove," "Dave" or "Plug 2," died at the age of 54.

By the late 1980s, hip-hop had well outgrown its infancy. Public Enemy was causing a furor with militant, socially critical lyrics, while on the West Coast of the United States, rap formation N.W.A. had released the groundbreaking album Straight Outta Compton, which had definitively put the genre of gangsta rap on the map. Rap, while mature, was also masculine, violent and often misogynistic.

Infatuation
And then suddenly there was De La Soul, who rapped about falling in love, about being bullied at school, about daring to be different. Daisy rap they called it themselves. With Me Myself and I they scored a world hit.
De La Soul's debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, which also included the hits Say No Go and Eye Know, became a major commercial success, as did follow-up De La Soul is Dead, with the hit Ring Ring Ring.

With kindred spirits A Tribe Called Quest, Jungle Brothers, Queen Latifah and Monie Love, De La Soul formed the "native tongues movement," whose positive lyrics and hippie image provided a counterpoint to rappers whose music primarily reflected the rough street life.

De La Soul drew for the beats from old jazz and funk records, or from typical blue-eyed soul of Hall & Oates and Steely Dan, for example. Those many samples would later get De La Soul into trouble. Due to lingering rights issues, their catalog could not be listened to on streaming platforms for a long time. It was recently announced that starting in March, all albums will be available again on Spotify and others.

Heart problems
De La Soul's influence on the development of hip-hop cannot be underestimated. Artists such as Mos Def, Common, Kendrick Lamar and Pharrell Williams consider De La Soul one of their main sources of inspiration. In 2006, the group received a Grammy for its collaboration with Gorillaz, the project of Blur singer Damon Albarn, for the single Feel Good Inc. De La Soul's latest album And the Anonymous Nobody dates back to 2016.

In 2018, Trugoy announced he had heart problems. Last week, he was missing from the Grammy Awards, where De La Soul was honoured at a tribute show celebrating five decades of hip-hop.

RJ Dune