Rapper David Jolicoeur dies at 54, one of the founders of the trio De La Soul

New York rapper David Jude Jolicoeur, one of the members of the iconic hip hop trio De La Soul, has died at the age of 54, local US media reported Monday.

The death of the rapper, better known by the stage name of Trugoy the Dove, was confirmed to CNN by Tony Ferguson, the musical trio's publicist.

Ferguson called Jolicoeur's death "a great loss," although he did not specify the cause of his death.

According to

magazine , which also confirmed the death of the rapper, who recently called himself Dave and was also known as Plug Two, the musician had spoken openly about his fight against heart failure that he suffered in recent years.

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Shocking, surprising and very revealing

Jolicoeur, born in Brooklyn, was considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of the 1980s and 1990s.

He had been a member of De La Soul since its founding in 1988. The trio also included Vincent Manson, known as Pasemaster Mase, and Kelvin Mercer, who goes by the stage name Posdnuos.

De La Soul released her debut album

in 1989, which included the hit

, which spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, according to CNN.

Recognized as one of the most innovative bands in rap history, De La Soul made their mark particularly in the early 1990s in what was considered the start of the

rap scene .

Contrary to what bands like Public Enemy or NWA did, with whose lyrics they denounced racism against blacks in the United States, they presented themselves with floral designs, closer to hippy aesthetics, and songs recorded in institutes like their hit Me, Myself

De La Soul's rap

has always contrasted with the more warlike and violent faction (at least verbally) of other famous artists of the genre of the nineties

“There has always been space for everyone”, they confessed in an interview in EL PAÍS in 2001, “and we have done well doing what we wanted and felt”.

At that time they had already renounced that

aesthetic of flowers and dreadlocks ringlets

which they became known in 1989. “Our lyrics are not as youthful as before;

Now we are talking about our own individual experiences, everyday experiences.

We have a family and we can no longer make noise with our daughters studying in the next room”, they confessed at the time.

Another example of his particular style is the mix of sounds from his first album with references to

, rhythms from classic television or recordings of French language classes.

This singular musical bet caused De La Soul to have so many legal problems due to the copyright of the sounds used in their songs that part of their legacy could not be recorded or heard digitally.

The band had managed to solve these problems and was preparing for the release of their discography in this format this coming March.