Gorillaz and Blur frontman Damon Albarn is mourning the loss of his close friend and collaborator Trugoy The Dove following the De La Soul rapper’s passing.
In a post to Instagram on Wednesday (March 8), De La’s Posdnuos shared some kind words from Albarn, where he reflected on Trugoy’s generous spirit.
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“I just want to talk about Dave’s generosity, I think,” Albarn said somberly. “[He was] very generous with his spirit and he had some amazing future-taking ideas that he was able to articulate with the rest of De La Soul. In a way they changed the paradigm so I just wanna say I miss you and love you.”
Check out the tribute below:
In February, Trugoy’s first posthumous verse appeared on the release of the Deluxe version of Gorillaz’s Cracker Island album. Titled “Crocadillaz,” the song also features the rest of Trugoy’s De La Soul groupmates as well as Dawn Penn.
Trugoy and Gorillaz have a long history, with the late rapper even winning a Grammy for his contributions to the cartoon group’s 2005 single “Feel Good Inc.”
Albarn’s comments were made as part of a series of De La Soul tributes that premiered at the group’s “D.A.I.S.Y. Experience” event in New York City last week, which commemorated both their back catalog finally arriving on streaming and Trugoy’s recent passing.
Executive produced by Questlove, De La Soul, Grace Harry and Reservoir Media — the company behind the group’s streaming release — the series paid homage to the cultural impact of the group, with additional tributes coming from Chris Rock, Chuck D, Prince Paul and others.
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Just 333 tickets were made available for the event — a nod to the group’s “The Magic Number.”
Dave “Trugoy” Jolicoeur died at the age of 54 on February 12. A cause of death is still unknown, but his passing was mourned by many of his Hip Hop peers including Pharrell, Common, Busta Rhymes, Questlove, Prince Paul, Queen Latifah, LL COOL J, Fat Joe, Chuck D, Black Thought, Redman, Bun B and more.
