Damon Albarn shares musical tribute for De La Soul's David Jolicoeur

Damon Albarn has paid tribute to De La Soul’s founding member David Jolicoeur, also known as Trugoy The Dove, who passed away on Sunday aged 54.

Said to be Gorillaz’ favourite collaborator during their tenure, leading hip hop trio De La Soul collaborated with Albarn and the band in 2005 on their hit single ‘Feel Good Inc.’, and again on the recent bonus track to Gorillaz’ forthcoming album ‘Cracker Island’, ‘Crocadillaz’, later this month.

Albarn shared a minute-long clip on social media yesterday captioned: “A loop for Dave. I love you,” alongside a short piano instrumental.

David Jolicoeur passed away on Sunday, February 12, aged 54. No cause of death was given, although AllHipHop confirmed that he had been suffering with an illness for several years.

As a founding member of De La Soul in 1988, Joliceour played an instrumental role in the pioneering hip-hop outfit and released monumental records including ‘3 Feet High and Rising’ and ‘De La Soul Is Dead’.

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In 2006, the trio were awarded a GRAMMY for their collaborative track ‘Feel Good Inc’ with Gorillaz. The group later came back together on the 2010 track ‘Superfast Jellyfish’, and again in 2017 on the ‘Humanz’ track ‘Momentz’.

‘Crocadillaz’, the next collaborative release between De La Soul and Gorillaz, is set for release on February 24 as part of the ‘Cracker Island’ bonus LP.

Last month, De La Soul announced the release of their entire back catalogue for the first time digitally. Their first six records will be released across streaming platforms in March after much anticipation from fans.

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Tributes for Trugoy The Dove are now pouring in. Cypress Hill’s B Real paid his respects on social media: “His music will allow him to live in our hearts and minds as he is gone. But not only was he a great musician but he was a great human being. He meant a lot to us”.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter