De La Soul Talks Trugoy the Dove's Passing In 'The New York Times'

One day ahead of the release of their back catalog to DSPs, De La Soul spoke to The New York Times about Trugoy the Dove's passing.

We're just one day away from the back catalog ofDe La Soulcoming to DSPs. In a recent feature in The New York Times, group members Posdnuos and Maseo discussed the unexpected passing of member Trugoy the Dove. On February 12, the rapper died at 54-years-old.

The surviving DLS members spoke to The New York Times in a joint phone interview, one day after attending the cremation service of Trugoy, legal name David Jolicoeur.

Posdnuos represented the trio solo during the 50th anniversary of hip-hop performance at the 2023 Grammys.

“It was a bittersweet performance for me,” he said. “because I was looking so forward to having my brothers there for this amazing moment.”

On Friday, the group's first six albums – including 1989's 3 Feet High and Rising, 1991's De La Soul is Dead and 1993's Buhloone Mindstate – will be available on digital streaming services after a decades-long legal battle with former label, Tommy Boy Records. On Thursday (March 2), an activation celebrating Jolicoeur's life and the DLS back catalog release titled "The DA.I.S.Y. Experience" will be held at New York City's Webster Hall.

“We fought so hard and so long for it,” Maseo told NYT. “For him not to be here, it’s awkward; it hurts.”

Towards the end of the interview, Posdnuos shared that Jolicoeur refined the group's original name.

“I was like, ‘We should call it From the Soul,’” Posdnuos recalled. “And Dave was like, ‘No, no — I like the meaning, Merce, but you need to spice it up.’ He looked at us and said, ‘De la.’ And we were like, ‘Yeah, that’s it!’”

“I’m going to do my best to stay strong and continue to rep my bro’s legacy,” Mason added, “until God says we can’t do it anymore.”