Nas Paid Tribute To The Late Trugoy of De La Soul During Sold-Out Madison Square Garden Tour Stop

Nas’ New York state of mind stretches far beyond his native Queensbridge neighborhood. While the “One Mic, One Gun” rapper recently revealed that he’d love to collaborate with Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen during his appearance on The Late Show hosted by Stephen Colbert, his love for New York musicians runs deep.

As the mogul’s tour made a stop at Madison Square Garden on Friday (February 24), Nas took a moment during his set to pay homage to Trugoy The Dove (real name David Jolicoeur) of De La Soul. The Long Island native passed away early this month.

The sold-out crowd joined us as Nas played the opening verse on De La Soul’s hit single “Buddy” before proclaiming, “Make some noise for Trugoy, De La Soul. Rest in Poetry!”

When the news first broke of Trugoy’s death, Nas took to Instagram to share a touching note. In the now archived post, Nas wrote, “‘Trugoy The Dove. You showed us it’s ok to have fun, not sad or too too deep or fight the power, tho it was very much fight the power what u did so genuis. Thank you.’”

Nas isn’t the only figure in music to pay their respect to the late rap trailblazer. Quest Love, Busta Rhymes, Common, as well as Trugoy’s surviving groupmates Maseo And Posdnuos, also broke their silence with a heartfelt message on social media, writing, “You 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.”