Malik B., an early member of The Roots, has died at age 47 of undisclosed causes. Black Thought and Questlove released a statement about Malik’s passing and contribution to hip-hop.Malik Abdul Basit met Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter in the early ’90s. He joined The Roots and stayed with the band on their journey from Organix in 1993 and he stayed until Things Fall Apart. He would return and make guest appearances on the albums Game Theory and Rising Down. As a solo artist, he released two albums and an EP. Black Thought made reference to Malik B. leaving the group on the song “Water (The First Movement)” and revealing that his drug use and lack of touring was the cause.Â
