The spaced-out and experimental sound of Ras G has unfortunately come to an end, as the Los Angeles-based producer & DJ has died as confirmed by his longtime label BRAINFEEDER. He was 39 years old.


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The cause of death hasn’t been revealed yet, but his health problems have been a subject of concern for a while now. Just last December, the Beats of Mind mixmaster revealed on Instagram that he was suffering from pneumonia, high blood pressure, diabetes, hypothyroid and even heart failure. In the same post he described his condition at the time as “breathing and feeling better than ever,” with plans to eat healthy, get on special herbs and inhabit a plant-based lifestyle. We cannot confirm if these conditions had anything to do with his death, but either way his untimely passing is still a sad situation nonetheless.

Ras G’s musical legacy exists heavily in the underground, releasing 14 albums from 2008 to 2016 and over a dozen EPs within the same timeframe. He established a great collaborative relationship with the likes of Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Open Mike Eagle and Hudson Mohawke amongst others. However, it was his work as one of the co-founders of the BRAINFEEDER collective that Flying Lotus would go on to turn into an independent label in 2008 that will forever he his claim to fame. Stylistically, G could be described as Hip-Hop-meets-funk from a super trippy, intergalactic perspective — it makes perfect sense that he often recorded under Ras G & The Afrikan Space Program. Mastering the art of crate-digging proved to be his strong point on the producing side, and whether you were aware or not he truly helped spearhead a sound that has influenced some of the most forward-thinking records in the past decade. His loss has left a void that will definitely be felt for a long time coming.

R.I.P, Ras G! Take a look at some of the friends and colleagues that are paying tribute to him on social media below, followed by his 2014 Boiler Room set from London that gives a better understanding of just how experimental and special his sound was: