David Jude Jolicoeur

David Jude Jolicoeur (born 21 September 1968, in Brooklyn, New York), also known under the stage name Trugoy and more recently Dave, is an American rapper, producer, and one third of groundbreaking hip hop trio De La Soul.^[1]

Jolicoeur, Vincent Mason and Kelvin Mercer were friends who attended the same high school in the Amityville area of Long Island during the 1980s. After they decided to form a rap group, each member re-christened themselves with an outlandish name (Trugoy the Dove, P.A. Pasemaster Mase and Posdnuos, respectively). Early on, Jolicoeur sported a unique style of African medallions, peace signs and uneven dreadlocks (known as the "De La Do"). Paired with the positive messages of the group's debut effort, 3 Feet High and Rising, the image led to critics and journalists labelling the members as "the hippies of hip hop" (a title that the group was quick to refute with the release of the second album De La Soul Is Dead in 1991).

Although not as often mentioned as Posdnuos, Jolicoeur has been equally acclaimed for his lyricism which, for the most part, avoids profanity in favor of complex, and sometimes abstract word play. For example, in the intro to 1996's Stakes Is High, Dave raps (in a frenetic manner): "Hey, how ya doin' / Now, meet in front of Big Lou's fighting / Hey, y'all reminisce, six streets, little miles / Straight to my avenue (Aaaah... aaaggh) / Six streets, went miles straight to my avenue / I'm headed for the bigger E, for the bitter OE, not me / Here's my Malibu, child, here's my Malibu / Buckshot honeys, dig a gun and go aaaahhhhh..."

In "Itzsoweezee (HOT)", from the same album, Jolicoeur directed some words towards mafioso rappers: "See them Cubans don't care what y'all niggaz do / Colombians ain't never ran with your crew / Why you acting all spicy and sheisty? / The only Italians you knew was icees" Even though he may have refused to use profanity he did use racist lyrics in his songs, "work hard like wetbacks", on the song Oooh.

Jolicoeur is also a member of the Spitkicker collective.

Aliases

All three members of De La Soul have a variety of known aliases and nicknames used throughout the group's career. The following are the most significant:

• Trugoy the Dove - Trugoy was Jolicoeur's earliest nickname, dating back to 3 Feet High and Rising. The name is yogurt backwards, Jolicoeur being admittedly fond of the food. Dove is a nickname for Dave, and is symbolic of the peaceful nature of the group's early songwriting.
• Plug Two - An early concept for 3 Feet High and Rising involved music being transmitted from Mars by three microphone plugs (each one representing a member of the group). Although this idea was abandoned, the titles Plug One, Plug Two, and Plug Three still became relevant on the album and its follow up, De La Soul is Dead.
• Dave - The least elaborate of Jolicoeur's nicknames, Dave is simply a popular nickname for the first name David and is currently Jolicoeur's most widely used alias.

References