Ty, the acclaimed U.K. rapper best known for his 2003 album "Upwards," has died from coronavirus at age 47.
Ty, son of Nigerian immigrants whose legal name was Ben Chijioke, was admitted to a hospital in early April with COVID-19, the Guardian reported. He was later placed in a medically induced coma.
According to a GoFundMe set up by a close friend, Ty left the intensive care unit on April 19. The page raised $20,000 for the rapper and his family but has not been updated since then.
In 2004, Ty was nominated for the Mercury Prize, honoring the best album by a British or Irish artist, for "Upwards." The acclaimed release was his second album, following his 2001 debut "The Awkward." Ty released three solo albums after "Upwards," the most recent in 2018, before forming the U.K. hip-hop group Kingdem with Rodney P and Blak Twang in 2019.
Some of those who knew Ty, including many in the U.K. rap scene, mourned his death on Twitter.
