Today In Hip Hop History: The Roots’ Founding Member Malik B. Passed Away Four Years Ago

On this date in 2020, one of the founding members of The Roots, Malik Abdul-Basit Smart aka Malik B passed away. He was 47 years old.

At the time of his passing, The Roots released a statement saying, “It is with heavy hearts and tearful eyes that we regretfully inform you of the passing of our beloved brother and long time Roots member Malik Abdul Baset. 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.”

Malik B. was considered to be an integral part of the group. He appeared on the first four albums, but like every group, they had internal problems and he eventually parted ways. The Philly emcee made guest appearances on later records and also released a solo project called Street Assault in 2005.

His cause of death is still not known.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: The Roots’ Founding Member Malik B. Passed Away Four Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: The Roots’ Founding Member Malik B. Passed Away Four Years Ago appeared first on The Source.