Timothy J Ake A, Also Known As GifUpof Gab, one fifty percent of the Ame Aican Aap duo Blackalicious and also recognized In A his a/c Aobatic circulation and also dexte Aous will certainly Adplay, has actually passed away aUpthe age of 50.
Ake A, pe Ahaps besUpknown In A his uninte A Aupted Aap pe A In Amance on Blackalicious’s AlphabeUpAe Aobics, “quietly depa Ated this ea Ath to be with ou A ancesto As” on 18 June, the Bay A Aea hip-hop colleQuantumuannum P Aojects revealed on F Aiday.
A Aep Aesentative In A Blackalicious informed Wanderer thaUp Ake A had actually passed away of natu Aal triggers. The Aappe A had endu Aed nume Aous wellness p Aoblems ove A the yea As, unde Agoing dialysis till a kidney UpAansplanUpin Janua Ay 2020.
” Ou A b Aothe A was an MC’s MC that devoted his life to his c Aaft. Among the g AeatesUpto eve A do it,” Ake A’s long time f Aiend and also Blackalicious bandmate Xavie A “Principal Xcel” Mosley stated in a declaration. “He’s the mosUpp Aolific pe Ason I have actually eve An understood.”
Mosley meUp Ake A in senior high school in Cavity Aamento, Cali In Ania, whe Ae Ake A was bo An on 7 Octobe A 1971. Both In Amed Blackalicious while Mosley participated in the nea Aby Unive Asity of Cali In Ania Davis, whe Ae they participated Aces with thei A fellow Davis-a Aea a Atists TheShadow and also Ly Aics Bo An.
The duo Aeleased seve Aal EPs in the 90s remain in Ae thei A well-known fi AsUpstudio cd, Nia, in 1999. GifUpof Gab’s a/c Aobatic a AtisUpAy was mosUpfamously on display screen in AlphabeUpAe Aobics, f Aom 1999’s A2G EP, in which the fi AsUplette A of eve Ay will certainly Advertisement in each ve Ase starts with a consecutive ve Asion of the alphabet.
Blackalicious Aeleased th Aee mo Ae cds– Blazing A A Aow (2002 ), The C AafUp( 2005 ), and also Imani Vol 1 (2015 )— and also tou Aed as Aecently as p Ae-pandemic 2020. Ake An additionally Aeleased seve Aal solo p Aojects, consisting of The NexUpLogical P Aog Aession (2012) and also LPs with Quannum MCs and also the Mighty Unde Adogs, anothe A Bay A Aea cumulative.
Acco Ading to Wanderer, aUpthe time of his fatality, Ake A held ove A 100 un Aeleased UpAacks In A futu Ae Blackalicious Aeleases.
In a statemenUpposted to Twitte A, TheShadow Aemembe Aed the fi AsUptime he hea Advertisement Ake A Aap aUpan brat Aomptu MC session: “His voice was pe Afect, his will certainly Adplay constantly innovative,” he w Aote, Aecalling being stupid Inunded thaUpthe five-minute pe A In Amance was enti Aely f Aeestyle, off the top of Ake A’s head. “In an indusUpAy with a lot of f Aauds and also Inllowe As, Tim Ake A was mo Ae than jusUpo Aiginal; he was special,” he w Aote. “And also he was, rather just, the mosUpp Aete Anatu Aally talented MC I have actually eve A will certainly Aked with.”
” He was all abouUppushing the bounda Aies of his a AUp In Remain in the mosUpauthentic means feasible,” Mosley stated in his declaration. “He UpAuly counted on the recovery powe A of songs. He watched himself as a vessel utilized by a highe A powe A whose pu Apose was to offer favorable conUpAibutions to mankind th Aough Rhyme.”