Fugees Collaborator John Forté Dead At 50

John Forté, a rapper and producer who had a major-label moment as part of the Fugees’ extended crew, has died. The Associated Press reports that police in Chilmark, Massachusetts found Forté’s body in his house on Monday. Police claim that there were no signs of foul play, and the cause of his death is currently unclear. Forté was 50.

Pras Michel from the Fugees shared this statement through a representative:

John was more than just a collaborator. He was family. We came up together in an era when hip-hop was about pushing boundaries, telling real stories, and creating something that mattered. His talent as a writer, producer, and artist was undeniable. Anyone who heard his work knew they were in the presence of someone special. I’m glad I got to share the star with him one last time.

The hip-hop community has lost a real one. I’ve lost a brother.

Rest in power, John. Your music and your spirit live on.

John Forté had a truly wild run in the spotlight. Forté, a Brooklyn native, studied classical violin as a child, and he went to the prestigious prep school Phillips Exeter Academy. He went on to NYU, where he was a music business major, and to work as an A&R rep at the celebrated rap label Rawkus. When he was 21, Forté co-wrote and co-produced a couple of tracks on the Fugees’ massively successful 1996 album The Score, and he rapped on the deep cut “Family Business” and on the Refugee Camp remix of the hit “Fu-Gee-La.” He also worked on Wyclef Jean’s 1997 solo album The Carnival and appeared on the Bee Gees-sampling single “We Trying To Stay Alive.”

In 1998, Forté released his solo debut Poly Sci. Wyclef co-produced and appeared on the Nena-sampling single “Ninety Nine (Flash The Message),” but Forté produced much of the LP himself. Poly Sci didn’t sell a ton of copies, but I bought it, and I liked it, especially the DMX collab “We Got This.” Two years after the album came out, Forté was arrested at Newark International Airport, where he was carrying a briefcase with $1.4 million worth of liquid cocaine. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking, and he released the 2002 independent album I, John while he was awaiting sentencing.

One of the guests who appeared on I, John was the ’70s hitmaker Carly Simon. Forté was childhood friends with Simon’s son Ben, and both Ben and Carly became advocates for Forté while he was in prison, at their urging, George W. Bush commuted Forté’s sentence in 2008. He went on to release a few more independent albums in recent years. Check out some of his work below.