Grammy nominated rap producer and musician John Forté was found dead at his home in Chilmark on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, on Monday, January 12. He was 50.
Forté was discovered unresponsive on his kitchen floor by a neighbor who called emergency services. Police said there were no signs of foul play.
Tributes quickly poured in from artists he worked with, including members of the Fugees, Wyclef Jean and the Refugee Camp All-Stars.
Born in Brooklyn on January 30, 1975, Forté grew up in a financially stable household and studied violin and classical music at Phillips Exeter Academy. After graduating in 1993, he returned to New York City, enrolled at NYU as a music business major and lived with rapper Talib Kweli.
His breakthrough came after Lauryn Hill introduced him to the Fugees. He co-wrote and produced several tracks on their 1996 album The Score, which went multi-platinum and won a Grammy. Forté was also nominated for a Grammy for his work on the project and later toured with the group, contributing vocals to Wyclef Jean Presents The Carnival in 1997. He released his debut solo album Poly Sci in 1998, produced by Wyclef Jean.
In 2000, Forté was arrested at Newark International Airport on drug possession and trafficking charges and sentenced to 14 years in federal prison. Through connections from his Exeter days, singer Carly Simon and her son Ben Taylor became strong advocates for him and helped campaign against the mandatory minimum laws that led to his sentence. With support from Senator Orrin Hatch, his sentence was commuted by President George W. Bush in November 2008, and he was released the following month.
After his release, Forté began teaching music at City College of New York and returned to recording and composing. He wrote an anthem for the Brooklyn Nets in 2012, appeared on the television show NY Ink, and composed the theme music for the CBS News documentary series Brooklyn DA.
He is survived by his wife, freelance photographer Lara Fuller, and their two children.
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