Dave From De La Soul Has Died

Dave from  De La Soul is dead at 54. The rapper talked openly about his struggles with congestive heart failure.

Dave Jolicoeur, one third of the legendary hip-hop group De La Soul, has died. He was only 54 years old. De La's publicist, Tony Ferguson, confirmed the news. AllHipHop.com was the first to report. 

The story is still breaking so there are not a lot of details, but Dave has been open about his health issues in the past. Dave suffered from congestive heart failure. In the video for  “Royalty Capes," from their 2016 album And the Anonymous Nobody..., he talked about not being able to tour properly due to his health issues, 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.”

In 2020, the rapper had to have an extended stay in the hospital due to the ailment. (Around this time, De La held an instagram live session where Dave was coming from the hospital.)

The news is particularly devastating considering that De La just finished the grueling process of getting their music back and then clearing the samples from their older albums. They are getting ready to release their entire catalog in March. 

The Long island trio De La Soul first emerged on the scene in 1988 with their classic debut 3 Feet High and Rising. Compared to other rap acts from that era, it always felt like all three members — Dave, also known as Trugoy The Dove, Posdnous and Maseo — had equal footing. Even on their breakout single, “Me Myself and I," Dave famously started the song:

“Mirror mirror on the wall/Tell me mirror, what is wrong? Can it be my De La clothes/Or is it just my De La song?”

Over the decades De La would put out numerous classics, including De La Soul Is Dead (1991), Buhloone Mindstate (1993), and Stakes Is High (1996). Another thing that made De La unique: the group always stayed together, despite the numerous absences that would come later in their career