David Jolicoeur, a founding member of hip hop trio De La Soul, has died at 54.
A cause of death was not immediately disclosed but, in 2017, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Last week, Jolicoeur was absent from De La Soul during the Grammys tribute to the anniversary of hip hop.
Jolicoeur was best known as Trugoy the Dove but also performed as Plug Two and Dave.
Born in Brooklyn, he was raised in Long Island and formed De La Soul with high school friends Vincent Mason and Kelvin Mercer. Their debut album 3 Feet High and Rising was released in 1989 and spawned the hit “Me Myself and I.”
The trio put out seven more studio albums and had success with tracks like “Ring Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey).” They were also featured on 2005’s “Feel Good Inc.” by Gorillaz.
De La Soul’s catalogue is scheduled to become available on streaming services next month, after a long battle over rights to samples they used.