One of hip-hop’s most renowned acts is mourning a founding member. Malik Abdul Basit, known creatively as Malik B., has died at just 47 years old, the group confirmed in a social media announcement on Wednesday.
“It is with heavy hearts and tearful eyes that we regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member Malik Abdul Basit,” The Roots’ official Instagram page posted, alongside a throwback photo of the late rapper and his bandmates.
The tribute went on to honor Malik’s faith and talent while urging fans to be sensitive to loved ones grieving his passing.
“May he be remembered for his devotion to Islam, His loving brotherhood and his innovation as one of the most gifted MCs of all time. We ask that you please respect his family and extended family in our time of mourning such a great loss,” the post concluded.
Further details, including a cause of death, were not revealed.
Malik departed The Roots in 1999 following the release of their seminal alum “Things Fall Apart.” He helped launched the group, then known as Square Roots, more than a decade earlier with high school friends Questlove and Black Thought. Despite his exit, he was featured on multiple subsequent tracks from The Roots’ LPs “Game Theory” and “Rising Down” in 2006 and 2008, respectively. His final solo album, “Unpredictable,” dropped in 2015.
Black Thought honored his pal and colleague in a moving Instagram eulogy that reflected on his and Malik’s relationship and how much he respected his fellow musician’s groundbreaking skills and artistic vision.
“In friendly competition with you from day one, I always felt as if I possessed only a mere fraction of your true gift and potential. Your steel sharpened my steel as I watched you create cadences from the ether and set them free into the universe to become poetic law, making the English language your b****,” he wrote in part. “I always wanted to change you, to somehow sophisticate your outlook and make you see that there were far more options than the streets, only to realize that you and the streets were one… and there was no way to separate a man from his true self. My beloved brother M-illitant. I can only hope to have made you as proud as you made me. The world just lost a real one.”
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