David Jolicoeur: Rapper and founding member of De La Soul dies

David Jolicoeur, a founding subordinate of the pioneering hep hop trio De La Soul, has died aged 54, US media person reported.

No origin of decease has been fixed for the rapper, who went by the signifier sanction Trugoy the Dove.

The American instrumentalist had antecedently spoken publically astir his congestive bosom nonaccomplishment successful caller years.

Jolicoeur co-founded the legendary trio - alongside Posdnuos (Kelvin Mercer) and Maseo (Vincent Lamont Mason Jr).

The radical changed the look of hip-hop successful the precocious 80s and aboriginal 90s, and was honoured astatine past week's Grammy Awards successful Los Angeles during a tribute to the genre.

Writing connected Twitter, B Real - a rapper with the hip-hop radical Cypress Hill - described Jolicoeur arsenic a "legend of hep hop euphony and culture".

"His euphony volition let him to unrecorded successful our hearts and minds," helium wrote. "But not lone was helium a large instrumentalist but helium was a large quality being. He meant a batch to us."

Last month, the group's classical albums were made disposable for streaming online.

Complex licensing issues astir De La Soul's usage of hundreds of samples had held backmost the determination until now.

3 Feet High and Rising, which was their debut medium successful 1989, reached fig 1 connected Billboard's apical R&B/hip-hop medium illustration and often appears connected lists of the top albums of each time. It included hits The Magic Number and Me, Myself and I.