Art Official Intelligence Radio with De La Soul on Apple Music 1 concludes with Dave Chappelle in an expansive conversation that connects hip-hop and comedy.
The special five-episode series hosted by Posdnuos and Maseo arrived just in time to celebrate the release of the 35th anniversary deluxe edition of the hip-hop group’s debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, available in Spatial Audio.
Throughout the series, Posdnuos, Maseo, and special guests retrace and reflect on the history, legacy, and impact of De La Soul, while honoring the memory of their late bandmate Dave, aka Trugoy the Dove.
The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air was not only one of the defining TV shows of the ’90s, but it was the springboard Will Smith used to go from rapper to acting superstar. However, it looks like Smith actually wasn’t the only hip-hop figure considered for the role, as De La Soul was apparently in the mix, too.
On their new Apple Music show Art Official Intelligence Radio With De La Soul (as HipHopDX notes), Posdnuos and Maseo spoke with guest Queen Latifah about the show. Posdnuos noted, “A lot of people don’t know, yo: the Fresh Prince thing was offered to us.”
He continued, “They want us to do this? Russell [Simmons] was like, ‘Yo, y’all need to try out. Go out there.’ We was like, ‘Nah. We do rap and stuff.’ Honestly, we were scared. Seriously, we were scared.” He also joked, “And sh*t, I could have been Will Smith. I could have got married to Jada. Damn.”
Based on Posdnuos’ recounting of events, it’s not clear if just one of the group’s members would have been chosen for the Smith role, with the other two possibly getting other roles, or if the show would have had a different structure entirely with all three starring. Whatever the case, it’s a fun alternate reality to think about.
Just months before Hip-hop’s 50th commemoration, De La Soul shared that their entire catalog would finally be available on streaming platforms for the first time. As one of rap music’s most impactful trios, fans jump for joy knowing that their years-long battle with former label Tommy Boy Records had finally ended. Unfortunately, beloved member Trugoy died before it could happen.
Now that their critically acclaimed bodies of work are available for all to enjoy, Maseo and Posdnuos addressed their fight to gain control of their catalog. The group discussed their lengthy legal pursuit in the teaser clip for their upcoming appearance on People’s Party with Talib Kweli.
“I’m going to be very candid and very real; it was like freeing the slaves but adding vagrancy laws,” said Maseo. Vagrancy laws were enacted to essentially make it a crime for an individual to loiter. For decades, vagrancy laws have been criticized as an attack on unhoused people.
With his statement, Maseo seemingly touches on the rumors that the group almost were given their rights to the past works but were told they wouldn’t be allowed to monetize it any further. This was at the root of online speculation after negotiations between parties were shut down in 2019.
Maseo continued, “[The deal] was almost like giving me a house that I couldn’t do nothing with… the wordplay in the contracts. I have a house I can live in, but I can’t sell it. I can’t control nothing [in it], but I can live inside of it. That just wasn’t going to work for me or my crew. It was another form of slavery, in my opinion.”
Maseo’s wife, Tina, played a critical role in his desire to push forward. “The more we continued to talk about it [I realized] we were talking about a new deal over old music and [look at] the age we’re at, at the same time… What future opportunity are we really talking about?.. The more I assessed this thing, we’re in a business where we are worth more dead than alive. So, it was really about negotiating that deal based on death and life. Knowing the realities of the business that we are in,” proclaimed Maseo.
He closed by saying, “It was a tough decision to make, but God was on our side. My wife was on my side, and it worked out for the best. It wasn’t even Tommy Boy that made it right. It was the new owners of the catalog that did. Tommy Boy… Tom Silverman would’ve never made it right.”
Redman has paid homage to De La Soul. The rapper gave the group their flowers during their recent “D.A.I.S.Y. Experience” event in New York. The event celebrated Del La Soul’s music arriving on streaming services. It was attended by many names in hip-hop, such as Queen Latifah, Common, and Busta Rhymes. Consisting of tributes about the group’s cultural impact, the event also celebrated the life of Trugoy The Dove, who passed away in February.
Paying his respects to the group, Redman said: “Ay Redman in the building, shout out to De La Soul, shout out to my brother Dave Trugoy we gonna miss you my brother rest in power.” He continued: “Now if you never been to a De La Soul show you done missed out. Now there’s one part of the show that they know I love it’s the song that they did with MF Doom ‘Rock Co.Kaine Flow,’ and when they do that set I lose my fucking mind. Because Dave he be like, ‘one more time put your motherfuckin’ hands up!’ and they just freeze.”
Trugoy The Dove, also known as Dave, passed away at the age of 54 on February 12th, earlier this year. Although no cause of death was given, Dave had been having some health issues. He also revealed that he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure a few years prior to his death. Speaking on the De La Soul Instagram account, the group’s Posdnuos wrote: “We would like to say thank you Dave for being a big brother. Thank you for being a friend, and for the wise words placed in your verses.” He added: “Thank you for the music you produced that is loved by so many and for never wanting to compromise the quality of our brand.”
Posdnuos and Maseo both also paid their respects to their late group member at the “D.A.I.S.Y. Experience” event. Maseo said: “I usually have a lot of words to say, but I’m at a loss for words, yo. My emotions are very displaced. My man is gone, but I appreciate all of y’all all these years for support.”
It’s ironic; as a member of De La Soul, the late Trugoy the Dove helped pioneer hip-hop’s so-called “Daisy Age,” but it’s only after he passed that he’s receiving his flowers. The latest tribute to Dave Jolicoeur comes from frequent collaborator Damon Albarn, who praised the rapper’s generosity in an audio clip shared by Dave’s bandmate Posdnous.
“I just want to talk about Dave’s generosity, I think,” Albarn says in the clip. “[He was] very generous with his spirit and he had some amazing future-taking ideas that he was able to articulate with the rest of De La Soul. In a way, they changed the paradigm so I just wanna say I miss you and love you.”
Albarn was one of De La’s greatest advocates during the time their music was not available to stream, tapping them to feature on multiple projects with his virtual band, Gorillaz, starting with “Feel Good Inc.” from 2005’s Demon Days. Most recently, they appeared on the deluxe version of Cracker Island on the song “Crocadillaz,” which was released shortly after Dave’s passing.
The group’s music is finally on streaming now, though, and after a tribute concert in their hometown to celebrate in which Plug Three, Maseo, got emotional talking about Dave’s impact, fans can also honor the pioneering rapper by running up the numbers on Stakes Is High.
Today (March 3) is a big day for hip-hop: De La Soul’s beloved catalog is finally available on streaming services. Right now is of course a bittersweet time for the group, though, because in the midst of this, De La Soul and the hip-hop community at large are still reeling over the recent death of group member Trugoy. Well, last night, the surviving De La Soul members hosted a tribute concert to commemorate their big streaming moment, and naturally, there was some emotion at play.
Towards the end of the evening, Maseo addressed the crowd to speak about his journey. He got emotional talking about Trugoy, saying, “I usually have a lot of words to say, but I’m at a loss for words, y’all. My emotions are very displaced. My man is gone. But I appreciate all of y’all for all these years of supporting us.”
At the end of his speech, he was fighting back tears as he again thanked De La Soul fans for their support.
In a lengthy post shared after Trugoy’s death, Maseo wrote in part, “Dave – thank you so much for being in my life. Although you and I would argue like hell, we would both admit when we were wrong and totally come full circle and say, ‘I Love You.’”
Gorillaz honored Trugoy more formally today, February 27. The famed animated band dropped a deluxe version of their new album, Cracker Island. One of the new tracks is “Crocadillaz” featuring Dawn Penn and De La Soul, and the first voice heard is Trugoy’s.
“Send a sentiment / Taste a destruction,” he raps over an upbeat loop. Elsewhere, Trugoy intricately balances the benefits of his hard-earned position (“Life is intoxicating, I need a beer”) with the potential pitfalls (“Hypnotized by the crocodile smiles / The exchange is brief but watch for the teeth”).
Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn first acknowledged Trugoy’s passing with an Instagram video on February 13. “A loop for Dave. I love you,” he wrote in the caption.
De La Soul was previously featured on Gorillaz’s Grammy-winning, ubiquitous track “Feel Good Inc.” in 2005.
An official cause of death has not been publicly identified, but as noted in Uproxx’s obituary for Trugoy, he shared he was suffering from congestive heart failure in 2018 and was hospitalized in 2020.
The last time I wrote at length about De La Soul was on the 30th anniversary of their groundbreaking debut album, 3 Feet High And Rising. I fully expected to write about them again, especially with their catalog coming to streaming for the first time, but not so soon and definitely not like this.
On Sunday, February 12, Dave Jolicoeur, aka Trugoy The Dove, aka Plug Two, passed away at the age of 54. He’d had a number of public struggles with his health in recent years, including a battle with congestive heart failure in 2018, and a hospitalization in 2020.
The news was devastating to hip-hop as a whole, with an outpouring of grief coming from a plethora of the genre’s most prominent stars, including frequent collaborator Common. Social media was deluged in tribute posts from Dave’s fellow Native Tongues, as well as rappers, producers, and music business veterans.
The timing of his death felt like an especially cruel irony. Just days before, De La Soul had been pivotal in the Grammys’ 50 Years Of Hip-Hop tribute, and in just over two weeks, De La Soul’s catalog would be available for the first time to generations of rap fans who’d always heard about their influence but perhaps had yet to experience the trio’s pioneering music for themselves.
I was one of those who lived it in real time; although I was too young to really appreciate the stylistic experimentation of 3 Feet High, De La Soul Is Dead, and Buhloone MIndstate, my teen years were informed — actually almost wholly consumed — by De La’s latter output. In fact, the first rap CD I bought with my own money from my first summer job was Stakes Is High, the group’s 1996 diatribe against the ongoing commercialization (read: selling out) of hip-hop.
Stakes Is High was a huge part of the reason I spent my high school years sneering down my nose at my peers for bumping “mainstream,” radio-friendly rap (I know, I know, but at least I grew out of it, right?). It was the album that introduced the world to Mos Def — now known as Yasiin Bey — and contributed greatly to the rise of the legend of J Dilla, who was known then as Jay Dee.
It was also the album that developed my appreciation for Trugoy’s lyrical talents. “Itzsoweezee (Hot)” was the album’s second single, and Dave is the only group member to rap on it — it’s also the first De La Soul record I remember memorizing from top to bottom. It was never a huge hit, but it wound up informing the way I came to perceive rap.
It’s also emblematic of his style as a whole; breezy but cerebral, freewheeling but precise. When I say that no one in hip-hop has ever rapped like Trugoy — before or since — I need you to know that it’s one of the few inarguable statements I’ve ever written on this site. Despite the somewhat grumpy outlook of the beloved album, Dave refused to be as staid as rap peers who felt the same way, infusing his rhymes with the sort of humor that underpins De La’s longevity compared to those peers who fell by the wayside.
“See them Cubans don’t care what y’all n****s do,” he rhymed, undercutting the rising wave of studio gangsterism he saw infiltrating hip-hop. “Colombians ain’t never ran with your crew / Why you acting all spicy and shiesty? The only Italians you knew was icees.” Sure, rap may have been inundated with phony mobsters who rhymed scenes straight out of New Jack City, but all Dave could do was laugh at them.
On future De La standouts, Trugoy showed his versatility, from the languid party rhymes of “Oooh.” to the body-positive come-ons of “Baby Phat.” He never lost his edge, though; on “Rock Co.Kane Flow” from the group’s 2004 album The Grind Date (the last they’d record until 2016 as record label disputes waylaid their continued output), he closes the punishing posse cut with a defiant dismissal of any insinuation that the crew had aged out of relevance:
The elements are airborne, I smell the success
(Yo let’s cookie cut the shit and get the gingerbread, man)
Sacrifice mics and push drugs to these rappers
Puff ponies ’til I turn blue in the lips
Sipping broads like 7-Up (ahh) so refreshing
I finger pop these verses like first dates
The birthdate’s September 2-1, 1-9, 6-8
Too old to rhyme, too bad, too late
Trugoy, and his rhyme partners Posdnuos and Maceo, were unafraid to age in what many have long considered a young man’s game. From opening the doors of hip-hop to hippies and iconoclasts to challenging the status quo, he was always unafraid to zig where others zagged, standing in opposition to complacency and intertia in favor of surprise and reinvention.
On March 3, the world will finally be able to revisit De La’s catalog and appreciate the efforts Dave made toward constant progression. It’s tragic that he won’t be here to enjoy being celebrated, but one thing that we can be sure of is that he would only have continued to extend, to reach, to strive for that elusive sense of originality and joy that made hip-hop such a global force to begin with. Although he’s gone, at the very least, his musical legacy will live on to inspire future generations to do the same.
Legendary rap trio De La Soul has been making a musical comeback in a major way. Not only has the group managed to work through its legal dispute with its former label, Tommy Boy Records, but fans were enjoying the possibility of potential new music. Unfortunately, it has been revealed that founding member, Trugoy The Dove (real name David Jolicoeur) has died at the age of 54.
A representative close to the group has confirmed the news with several outlets, including The Grio and AllHipHop.com.
Although the details of his passing have not yet been released, in the past has been public about his health battles. Back in 2018, he opened up about his fight with congestive heart failure on social media confessing to his group member that he was struggling with being sidelined while they made professional progress relating to touring.
Saying, “I’m ready just to get back to the stage. I miss that. I love traveling. I love being around my guys, and I want that back.”
Jolicoeur was again hospitalized in 2020, but following a live stream with Posdnous and Maseo (also of De La Soul), it seemed that he was making progress.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jolicoeur’s family, close friends, and his fans currently mourning the news.
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