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De La Soul Pay Respects To Trugoy The Dove With A Daisy For Dave Tribute Event

Hip-hop’s eccentric, one-of-a-kind trio from Amityville, Long Island, has suffered their greatest loss yet. On February 12th, founding member David Jolicoeur, aka Trugoy The Dove, died at the age of 54.

As one of the most innovative and eclectic hip-hop groups, De La Soul have made an indelible mark on the history of rap. They’ve crafted their unique lyricism, which combines self-invented slang with inside jokes, to speak about everything from sex, love and individualism, to trying new things on the journey to personal growth. The group also stuffed their songs with samples and instrumentals from diverse genres, including rock, funk and even country and western.

While many rappers were influenced by the classic, hard-core gangsta rap of the 1980s, De La Soul took a different path. Their debut, Three Feet High and Rising, landed them in a positive place on the charts, as well as in Source magazine’s top 100 hip-hop albums of all time. But after the success of their debut, De La Soul found themselves in a slump, and as they got older, the group began to grow disillusioned with the cliched, superficial nature of Hip-Hop’s mainstream.

With a satirical tone that was as sharp as their emcees’ rhymes, they resisted the ‘Daisy’– a flowerpot on the cover of their second album denoting “The Dead” era of hip-hop music – and pushed themselves to talk about more serious matters like teen incest, drug addiction, and cultural appropriation. As they continued to grow and mature as artists, their sonic explorations kept getting more sophisticated and complex.

They reworked old school snare drum beats for their 1993 release Buhloone Mindstate, which tackled issues of cultural appropriation and dissatisfaction with the music business. Their 1996 release Stakes Is High was even more critical, examining how the industry had become overly commercialised and self-indulgent.

The enduring legacy of De La Soul is their innovative rap, which has been recognized by multiple awards and publications over the years, as well as by fans and critics alike. They’re a major part of the Hip-Hop scene, with their groundbreaking music and one-of-a-kind lyricism inspiring an entire generation of young listeners and artists.

In recent years, the group had struggled with legal and publishing issues with Tommy Boy Records, which resulted in their catalog being unavailable on streaming services and downloads. However, this year the music rights company Reservoir Media acquired Tommy Boy and the group’s catalog was rereleased by streaming platforms.

It was a hard-fought battle, but the group’s first four albums were finally available to stream, 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul Is Dead, Buhloone Mindstate and Stakes Is High. This marks a historic achievement for the band, who were previously unable to find a way to make their music available digitally.

After decades of fighting, the music rights firm Reservoir Media has negotiated a deal with Tommy Boy Records to release De La Soul’s full catalog to the world. The masters are back and the band are working with producer Prince Paul to restore the magic that defined their sound. The rerelease will include exclusive merch, vinyl, CD and cassette releases to celebrate their 30th anniversary.

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