It brings us great pain to inform the community that one of the original members of The Roots has passed away. Malik B (born Malik Abdul Basit in 1972) died July 29th 2020, the cause of which is still unknown.
In the '90s, if you weren't down with The Roots crew then you probably didn't mess with underground hip hop. Nowadays, they're a household name thanks to being added to the Jimmy Fallon show as his house band. But during arguably their best period, Malik was a part of the crew.
Appearing on projects such as Organix, Do You Want More?!!!??!, Illadelph Halflife and Things Fall Apart, Malik left at the end of the '90s to pursue his own musical intentions going on to release the 2005 album Street Assault and coming back 10 years later with the Mr. Green-produced Unpredictable. Both albums showcase what Malik was all about when it comes to his musical gift.
Read below what The Roots had to say about him on their Twitter account.
"May he be remembered for his devotion to Islam and innovation as one of the most gifted MCs of all time. We ask that you please respect his family in our time of mourning"
Malik Abdul Basit
1972-2020
R.I.P.