It’s been confirmed that Fugees collaborator and producer John Forté has died, aged just 50.
Forté was found dead at his home in Chilmark, Massachusetts on Monday (12 January). Chilmark police have said in a statement that there is no sign of foul play or “readily apparent cause of death”. The case is still being investigated by the state medical examiner’s office.
He produced and rapped on the Fugees’ multi-platinum 1996 album The Score and the group’s final hit Rumble In The Jungle, which appeared on the soundtrack of the Muhammad Ali documentary When We Were Kings.
Forté was also a key member of the Refugee Camp All-Stars, a loose collection of musicians who backed Wyclef Jean on his 1997 album The Carnival and various other projects.
Jean has already paid tribute to his friend and colleague on Instagram, posting a video of Forté performing Ready Or Not and writing: “This one hurts my brother @john_forte has joined the Angels legends never Die look at the smile R I P my Refugee brother.”
In addition to his work with Jean and the Fugees, Forté also released a number of solo albums, the most recent of which was 2021’s Vessels, Angels & Ancestors.
The rapper hadn’t been in the best of health in recent years. According to the Martha Vineyard Times, he had been hospitalised last year following a seizure and had been taking medication to avoid another grand mal seizure. It is not known yet whether any of these health issues had any bearing on his death.
