Tuesday 14 February 2023

When Doves Fly: R.I.P Trugoy

"Just as a reminder from the last step
Negative ones are lost in the footsteps"

Tell me what's more frequent: the deaths of goldfish, wrestlers or rappers? Generalist music fans get sad about boomer singers from the 1960s and 1970s dying off nowadays; try being a Rap fan where it seems like long-time favourites and promising young talents die every other week.

And so we bid farewell to Dove from De La Soul as he hops aboard the Chattanooga choo choo to Rap Heaven. The biggest compliment you can pay a rapper like Dove is that he rhymed shit no other M.C could or would have ever thought of saying. Dove had a problem... seriously: he was almost too good a fit for soulmate brother Plug One Posdnous because their partnership in rhyme was the gold standard for Rap duo chemistry during De La's peak. I am I be a British bloke who's been a fanatic of the DLS words since 1989 so their music really does Hit Different™ for me: they changed in speak what Rap could sound like, flipped the script on what rappers could look like, and inadvertently tapped into the spirit of Acid House's second summer of love here in the U.K. Ain't hip to be labelled a hippie, though, thus De La were masters of reinvention which left square listeners lost like high school history.

Since so much of The Discourse™ around De La Soul in recent years has been little more than basic bastard Rap fans moaning about De La's music not being on DSPs, here's one of their best B-sides which you can only currently stream on my Audiomack page. Peace out, Plug Two - I hope Heaven got a buncha bitties in the B.K Lounge.

De La Soul - What's More?
(From Me Myself & I 12"; 1989)



Personal highlight: bumped into De La in Manchester on the day of their 3 Feet High And Rising show circa 2014 and hit Dove with an "alright, Dave?".

21 comments:

step one said...

minor thing that bothers me: Radio 6 types and people who like "proper" music waving copies of 3 Ft High around on social media and banging on about how great it is, but seemingly have never purchased or heard another De La record apart from that album.

The Grind Date, for example, is really fucking good. RIP Dave. Him + Pos are 2 of the best to do it.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

That's true. Most of them have never heard Buhloone Mind State let alone anything after that.

That, It Takes A Nation Of Millions... and Paul's Boutique are the ultimate trifecta of 80s Rap albums for "I don't usually listen to Rap BUT..." guys.

xanaxfantasia said...

RIP for real!!! how do y'all feel about "feel good inc" round these parts -- probably the latest de la shit i enjoyed? realizing there is a vocal sample suspsiciously similar to roddy ricch's now classic "the box" EEE-ERRR
#LiningEmUpLikeAssCracks

seconded about 3 feet high! always been kind of baffled about that one being touted as "THE classic" album of theirs, i like is dead and buhloone way better... probly haven't given stakes is high a spin since my backpacker days... really fucked with "itzsoweezee" once upon a time

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Feel Good Inc is a jam 4 real. But the G.O.A.T De La collab with British indie blokes is Fallin' with Teenage Fanclub.

Spartan said...

Fallin' is the only song I can remember off the Judgement Night soundtrack.

Co-signing the appreciation for The Grind Date.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

The other killer song on Judgement Night OST is Another Body Murdered by Faith No More & Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.

https://youtu.be/ff_M8kcVRek

L.A said...

This one has hit me hard. Best hip hop group ever.

Top fellas too when we took them out in Liverpool.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Did you take them the Red Hot Buffet Bar? Quite liked that place until we saw mice running around in there.

Yohan said...

R.I.P. Trugoy. Buhloone Mindstate will forever be a personal favourite.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

3 Days Later
Area
I Am I Be
In The Woods
Breakadawn

^^^ one of the best runs of songs on a Rap album. Could have added Ego Trippin' (Part Two) if they hadn't stuck that stupid Paul's Revenge skit after it.

Yohan said...

I also have an unreasonable love for Stone Age, En Focus and Eye Patch.

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Not fussed on the former, but the other two are good, especially En Focus.

David said...

"trying people" is what ive had on repeat lately

I think 'eye know' off the debut is a really perfect song

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

"A lil' man that I can teach, a lil' sand that I can beach"

xanaxfantasia said...

😭😭😭 dont know why im crying in the club rn 2 teenage fanclub

"I knew I blew the whole fandango
When the drum crew never wore a Kangol"

what a masterpiece of forced corporate soundtrack collabs and a treatise on being washed to boot
*walks off into sunset*

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

It's a beautiful song innit?

xanaxfantasia said...

truly!!!

you played yourself <\3

also is that "falling" sample tom petty???

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

I think so, yeah.

xanaxfantasia said...

rappers love tom petty!!! and they're right... adding de la to the list with big boi and playboi carti

Kelvin Mack10zie said...

Pimp C too.

xanaxfantasia said...

hoooooooolllllyyyyty shiiiiiit i did not know about "i'm free" by pimp C fucking helll