The passing of Dave Jolicoeur (AKA Trugoy the Dove), producer, artist and co-founder of the seminal hip hop pioneers De La Soul, brought out great beauty of expression in the rapper Common, who says straightforwardly: “De La Soul is everything to me.”
He wasn’t the only one, but Common’s relationship with the group was unique — they collaborated and lifted each other up. Common says that when they took him on tour early in his career it “changed my life.”
The Grammys describe De La Soul as “renowned for dropping frank and satirical statements covering heavy topics on upbeat, dialogue-driven, sample-heavy tracks, De La Soul were innovative outliers on a late ’80s and early ’90s hip-hop scene flourishing with tough-tongued gangster rap.” A lot of that description might also apply to Common.
De La Soul is everything to me. They embraced me! They took me on tour with the@ and changed my life. They featured me on a song and changed my life again. I literally lived with them! We love you Dave. May God bless your soul! pic.twitter.com/y1UBYXYSLv
— COMMON (@common) February 13, 2023
Common tells the backstory of the relationship swiftly and sincerely. Readers can hear his joy and gratitude buoying the broken heart.
“They embraced me!” Common writes. “They took me on tour with the@ and changed my life. They featured me on a song and changed my life again. I literally lived with them! We love you Dave. May God bless your soul!”
Common and De La Soul collaborated on several projects throughout their careers. Some of their notable collaborations include:
- “The Sixth Sense” from Common’s album “Like Water for Chocolate” (2000)
- “The Bizness” from De La Soul’s album “Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump” (2000)
- “The Glory” from Common’s album “Finding Forever” (2007)
- “The People” from Common’s album “Black America Again” (2016)
These collaborations showcase the mutual respect and artistic synergy between Common and De La Soul, and demonstrate their shared commitment to pushing the boundaries of hip hop music.
