Ty, British Rapper, Dead at 47 From Coronavirus

Ty, a Mercury Prize-nominated Nigerian British rapper, has reportedly died from COVID-19. He was 47.

Reps for Ty, whose real name was Ben Chijioke, confirmed his death to The Guardianon Thursday. ET has reached out to Ty's reps for comment.

Per a GoFundMe page previously set up for the artist, Ty was hospitalized in early April with symptoms related to the coronavirus. The page stated that Ty was "put in a medically induced coma to temporarily sedate" and help his body receive the appropriate treatment. By April 19, the last time the page was updated, Ty appeared to be doing much better and was out of the ICU.

Ty gained fame in 2001 after the release of his debut album, The Awkward. His sophomore LP, Upwards, was nominated for the 2004 Mercury Prize. He went on to release three additional albums. In 2019, he formed a new hip-hop group, Kingdem, with rappers Blak Twang and Rodney P.

Upon hearing the news of his passing, Blak Twang posted a video of his late friend.

"KING 'BENEDICT OBIOMA GODWIN EVERY LITTLE STEP IS A SOVEREIGN'👑 Forever in my heart bro... Rest well my guy🙏🏿🙏🏿.... We were blessed with your greatness.❤️💚," he captioned the clip.

Blake Twang had also tweeted that he felt "so numb."

Rapper Ghetts also wrote on Instagram: "RIP TY 💔❤️ this ones deep I had a lot of respect for ty one of the first from the older generation to embrace me and show me love fly high ty ❤️."

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