The De La Soul song Trugoy the Dove always hated: “I will never gravitate to”
De La Soul were an artistic powerhouse during the 1980s, the likes of which hip-hop had never seen before. The Long Island trio greatly developed the epic East Coast Jazz-Hop subgenre and pushed alternative rap music into the mainstream with legendary albums such as 3 Feet High & Rising.
The collective, which consisted of three rappers, Posdnuos, the late Trugoy the Dove, and Maseo, produced music that pushed the boundaries of hip-hop. Furthermore, their creations encouraged sonic fusion and the incorporation of different sounds into rap.
In 2023, the iconic Trugoy The Dove (real name David Jolicoeur) passed away. Still, before his death, the emcee had an interview with the esteemed GQ magazine. During his discussion with the publication, Joliceur spoke about the group’s early albums and some of his favourite tracks. However, he also spoke about some of his most hated.
While speaking about 3 Feet High & Rising, Trugoy The Dove revealed that his favourite song from the project was ‘This is a Recording 4 Living in a Fulltime Era (L.I.F.E.)’. The lyricist even recalled the track’s creation.
Remembering how it started, Joliceur told GQ, “[I remember him] going into the studio and him knowing what it was gonna sound like before we had even laid one track. I was impressed, just sitting there like… He heard all of that in his head!”
He continued, “And it being, to me, one of the hardest, grittiest hip hop kinda things that De La had ever did. It was just rugged to me. It was like, “How did he know that was gonna work?” It’s like one of my favourite songs of all time from De La.”
Still, when speaking about De La Soul’s third project, Buhloone Mindstate, Trugoy The Dove admitted that he hated one of the songs on the album, unveiling, “I would pick ‘Breakadawn.’ [Laughs] A song that I will never gravitate to.”
Detailing how he feels about it, Trugoy The Dove told GQ, “I just don’t feel it. I just get nothing from it. I think my sentiment somewhere in the back of my mind was, ‘I am tired of these popcorn radio records that the label is looking for us to do when we have so much more that we can create and that we’re about.’ And it’s like… It almost felt like a slave record.”
He added, “For me, ‘Breakadawn’ almost felt like, ‘Okay, do that. That’s your job right there. You go do that.’ I could never appreciate it for what it is—and for what a lot [of people] appreciate it for.”
The late artist even insisted that, at the time of the track’s release, he was contemplating his place in the culture, revealing, “At the time, I think I was questioning how I really wanted to be in the game and hip-hop and this career. You know? I think a lot of the truth and the realities and the dark demons of the industry were present.”
He concluded, “And I don’t wanna say those demons are some mystical Illuminati shit. It was just like you had to do a lot for the sake of selling this product. Opposed to, ‘Okay, we’re an artist in an art form and expressing ourselves.’ And that’s why I’ve never liked that song.”