De La Soul’s Posdnuos says late member Trugoy the Dove is ‘very much a part of’ new album

De La Soul is gearing up for the release of their first album in nine years, Cabin in the Sky, and Kelvin “Posdnuos” Mercer tells Billboard he’s “feeling absolutely beautiful.”

“I’m really happy and proud of this album, proud of all we’ve accomplished. When you get to that finish line and you’ve realized things that you’ve had in your mind are now manifested,” he says.

Although it’s the first album they’ve released since the death of David “Trugoy the Dove” Jolicoeur, Pos says their late member was very much present during the album-making process.

“I can say without question [Dave] is here, his spirit, his energy, it’s very much a part of this album,” he tells Billboard. “Anything that he had placed in certain songs that we chose to use, all of that is felt. In that regard alone, that’s a success. But I really, really feel like De La fans are going to love this album.”

One of the ways Dave is represented on the album is the title and cover art, which features two figures with their heads in the clouds, with a cabin on top of the clouds.

“It plays off our own partner who has transitioned and where he is,” Pos says. “You know, as I explained in the title track, ‘Does he have his cabin? How many acres did he get?’ If you did really well, took care of yourself, helped others, do you get more acreage with his cabin? So it’s like, your mansion or your home in the sky in heaven.”

Cabin in the Sky, an album that simultaneously touches on joy and pain, and includes “a lot of therapy,” arrives on Friday. It’s the latest to come out on Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It series.