It has been more than a year since the death of Pigeon Trugoy. The De La Soul standout, who suffered from heart disease and diabetes, died suddenly in February 2023, leaving De La Soul members Maseo and Posdnuos to carry on his legacy.
Mace and Persia kept their word and continued to remember their dead friend. On Saturday (September 21), which would have been Trugoy’s 56th birthday, they shared a photo of him on their official De La Soul account. The title reads: “Birthday is September 211968…” Happy birthday to David Jude Jolico, Pigeon Trugoy, and Plug Two. #Thank youDave.
The lyrics they quoted were from the 2004 Grind Date single “Rock Co. Kane Flow” featuring MF DOOM.
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On February 12, the one-year anniversary of Trugoy’s death, Persia wrote a touching tribute to the pigeon Trugoy on Instagram, writing: “I feel so sad to be posting this on this day. Conflict…Dave doesn’t like it when people are commemorated publicly on the day they disappeared.
“The day they were transformed, but I believe he also respected the way people choose to remember those they loved and lost. So on this day, I will stand with all those who cherished him and prayed for us, but To be clear, I miss him every day, represent him every day, and talk to someone about him every day.
In March, shortly after the release of the expanded versions of Three Feet High and Rise, Pos spoke to AllHipHop about feeling “conflicted” about the tribute post.
“This is hard for me because Dave talks to me about this all the time,” Post said at the time. “He was like, ‘Yo, why are they doing that? Even with Dilla, he’s like, ‘Why are they celebrating his death?’ ” Or Biggie – “Why do they spend so much time talking about his death?” “I could see celebrating a birthday, but him dying? So I felt conflicted, and that’s what I said in the post. I talked to Mays about it, and I was like, ‘Yo, I want the fans to You know, like this is a one-time thing. I do this because I know you’ve been with us all year and supporting us in our bittersweet success.
“They were very helpful in helping me and Mac get through this, but it was just a one-time thing. When I approached their post, I didn’t want to act like that. I wanted them to know that Dave and I But I understand how you feel and I honor him every year but I just need you to understand that I celebrate Dave every day and I’m going to be sad every day that we lose him. .so I’m not going to let this break me down one day.
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Maceo admitted that he was in a gloomy mood that day, and the rain made him feel even more ominous.
“That was a tough day for me,” he said. “I’ve been silent all day. Pos’ post was the reason I didn’t post. Straight up. When I saw his post, I thought, ‘That’s enough.’ “I think my silence speaks for itself because I’m usually the loudest one. I know my silence matters. I’m not angry. I’m just very sad. I’m happy that he’s no longer in pain.”
As for the future of De La Soul, the surviving members have pledged to move on.
“My plan is definitely to go all out and make AOI 3 a reality. We definitely want to complete this mission. Persia has other ideas that are being worked on. We have the blessing of friends and family (especially Dave’s family) to make it happen.” We are able to move forward. We are actually called to it.
“We went to the memorial at Dave’s house, and everyone we grew up with said, ‘You all know you’ve got to move on.'” On a lot of levels, I feel like we have to, and we also want to. Do. We still have a lot in the tank.
