The New York rapper was a pioneering force in hip-hop
Sad news this morning, as it has been revealed that rapper Trugoy the Dove, a founding member of seminal hip-hop group De La Soul, has died.
The New Yorker, whose real name was David Jude Jolicoeur, founded De La Soul with childhood friends Vincent Mason aka Maseo and Kelvin Mercer aka Posdnuous in the late 1980s and the trio went on to huge success with their debut album '3 Feet High and Rising'. The album is regularly referred to as a masterpiece of the genre, and was added to the US's National Recording Registry in 2010 for its significance.
They later went on to collaborate with Gorillaz, where Trugoy turned in a memorable rap verse in their song 'Feel Good Inc.'
He has suffered from congestive heart failure in recent years, and was notably absent during De La Soul's appearance at the Grammys last week.
Tributes have been pouring in from friends and his peers on social media, and you can read some of them below.
R.I.P.