De La Soul paid tribute to their late bandmember Trugoy The Dove with a performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon featuring The Roots.
The rap legends appeared on Thursday night’s episode (March 16) to perform ‘Stakes Is High’ from their classic 1996 album of the same name.
Trugoy The Dove died at the age of 54 last month. He had been suffering from several health issues in recent years, although no cause of death was revealed.
De La Soul were on Thursday joined by The Roots â Fallon‘s house band â with Black Thought standing in for Doveâs verses on the track.
Before the performance, surviving De La Soul members Posdnuos and Maseo opened up about the 15-year process of bringing their catalogue to streaming services. They also reflected about their early days in Long Island and recording their 1989 debut ‘3 Feet High And Rising’.
Both posts consisted of lengthy messages from each surviving member, accompanied by a carousel of images depicting the rapper throughout his career. In the first, Posdnuos paid his respects, writing: âYou were the heart of our group. You brought so much creativity, energy, and passion to our music, and your influence will be felt for years to come.â
Referencing Trugoyâs opening verse from their 1991 âDe La Soul Is Deadâ cut, âRing Ring Ring (Ha Ha Hey)â, he continued: âThank you for helping us become a group that will remain etched in the timeline of hip hop culture as well as the fabric of music and for now on when we perform âRing Ring Ring Ha Ha Heyâ we will say â2-2-2-2-222 we got an angel in heaven who can talk to youââ.
Maseo followed with a heartfelt message reflecting his close relationship with the deceased emcee, stating: âDave â thank you so much for being in my life. Although you and I would argue like hell, we would both admit when we were wrong and totally come full circle and say, âI Love You.â
The post De La Soul honour Trugoy The Dove with TV performance featuring The Roots appeared first on NME.
