De La Soul’s Maseo & Posdnuos Pay Tribute to ‘Angel in Heaven’ Trugoy the Dove

De La Soul members Maseo and Posdnuos have broken their silence, taking to social media on Wednesday (Feb. 22) to share heartfelt tributes to their De La Soul bandmate, David Jolicoeur a.k.a. Trugoy The Dove, who died earlier this month at age 54.

“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.’ I want to truly thank you for having the birds eye view of our collective vision to be a group,” Maseo wrote in a emotional, lengthy post shared to De La Soul’s official Instagram page. “I remember your mom calling you Dove, so you’ve always had wings, so go on and fly into the light, Merce and I will make sure your legacy is well preserved.”

Posdnuos echoed in his own tribute posted to Instagram, “You were the heart of our group. You brought so much creativity, energy, and passion to our music, and your influence will be felt for years to come.”

He continued, “We would like to say thank you Dave for being a big brother. Thank you for being a friend. Thank you for the wise words placed in your verses. Thank you for the music you produced that is loved by so many. Thank you for never wanting to compromise the quality of our brand. Thank you for helping us become a group that will remain etched in the timeline of hip hop culture as well as the fabric of music and for now on when we perform ‘Ring Ring Ring Ha Ha Hey’ we will say ‘2-2-2-2-222 we got an angel in heaven who can talk to you.’”

With a career spanning more than three decades, De La Soul is known as one of hip-hop’s most innovative and eclectic groups. Formed in 1988 in the Amityville area of Long Island, Dave (Trugoy the Dove) and members Posdnuos and Maseo met in high school.

See below for the touching tributes.