UK rapper Ty dead at 47 from COVID-19

Ty, the acclaimed UK hip-hop star who was nominated for the Mercury prize for his album Upwards, has died aged 47 after contracting coronavirus. His death was confirmed by one of his press team.

A fundraiser that was launched in early April said the rapper, born Ben Chijioke, was “admitted into the hospital with medical complications related to Covid-19. Shortly after, he was put in a medically induced coma to temporarily sedate to help his body receive the appropriate treatment”. His condition improved, however, and he was moved out of intensive care in mid-April. [The Guardian]

Long-running, Mercury Prize-nominated UK rapper Ty has died at 47 from COVID-19, as The Guardian (quoted above) confirms. Ty’s career dates back to the late ’90s, he put out his first album Awkward in 2001, his 2003 sophomore album Upwards was nominated for the Mercury Prize, and its 2006 followup Closer featured collaborations with De La Soul, Speech of Arrested Development, Zion I, Taylor McFerrin, and more. He followed that album in 2010 with Special Kind of Fool, and then, after an eight-year gap released what is now his final solo album, A Work of Heart, in 2018. He formed the group KINGDEM (with Rodney P and Blak Twang) the following year.

Rest in peace, Ty.