MALIK B., 1972-2020

Rapper Malik B., a member of The Roots throughout the 1990s, died Wednesday. Details on a cause and location were not immediately available. He was 47.

Born Malik Abdul Basit, he appeared on The Roots’ first four albums and returned as a featured artist on 2006’s Game Theory and 2008’s Rising Down. As a solo act, he released one EP and two studio albums.

“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 Roots’ Questlove and Black Thought said in a statement.

A Philadelphian, he befriended Black Thought while the two were students at Millersville University. After shortening their name from Square Roots, they released their first album Organix, in 1993. Their breakout major label debut, 1995’s Do You Want More?!!!??!, featured Malik B. and Black Thought on nearly every track. Basit also appeared on 1996’s Illadelph Halflife and 1999’s Things Fall Apart.