The Roots rapper Malik B. dies aged 47

Malik B, the rapper who was a co-founding member of the Roots and appeared on their first four LPs, has died at the age of 47. The Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought said in a statement - “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". Malik B. was the co-founding member of the band, he left the Roots at the turn of the millennium, due to drug issues, but he continued to make guest appearances on the group’s albums. Black Thought shared his warmhearted sentiment: “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****. 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”.