Attrel Cordes aka Prince Be, and a founding member of pioneering hip-hop act PM Dawn, has died at the age of 46.
According to People, the rapper passed away on Friday in New Jersey after suffering renal kidney disease. He suffered a stroke in 2005, which resulted in the left side of his body being paralysed.
Cordes formed PM Dawn with brother Jarrett, known as DJ Minutemix, in 1988, and they went on to become an influential and experimental hip-hop act during the 1990s.
Their Spandau Ballet-sampling 1991 single Set Adrift on Memory Bliss topped the Billboard 100, while their debut album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross sold over one million copies in the US.
The duo eventually parted ways as an act, with Cordes continuing under the PM Dawn name with his cousin Doc G, who wrote on Facebook: "Prince Be Rest In Peace Forever More, pain from diabetes can't harm you anymore.
"My Heart is at Peace B-Cuz U suffered so long, tell Grandma I said Hi & Stay Blisstatic & Strong."
