The Flying Lotus and Thundercat collaborator was 39 years old.
Los Angeles hip-hop and funk producer and Brainfeeder founding member, Ras G has died aged 39. No cause of death has been confirmed, but the producer revealed in December last year that he had been suffering from diabetes and pneumonia. Brainfeeder confirmed the news via Instagram, paying tribute to “one of the founding members of Brainfeeder and one of the most important figures in the Los Angeles Beat Scene”.
Ras G, born Gregory Shorter Jr., was best known for his cosmic, spacey tunes and Afrofuturist style, often blending jazz, soul, funk, psychedelia and hip-hop. A collaborator of Flying Lotus, Thundercat and Open Mike Eagle, Ras made a name for himself in the LA beat scene, releasing 25 albums and mixtapes since his debut release in 2008. He frequently appeared at Los Angeles club Low End Theory, known for it’s reintroduction of funk, jazz and electronic sounds to the city’s thriving hip-hop scene.
Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke and The Comet is Coming are among the artists who have paid tribute to the pioneering producer. With Mohawke saying, “So incredibly sad, [Ras G] was a true visionary and a weirdo in the greatest possible sense,” and Moor Mother writing, “Ras G was a real one. Believer in the power of music to heal the planet.”
Ras_G has left the planet, far beyond the galaxy.
Show us the way to the cosmos my friend.
I will love you forever.
Thank you for your time on earth.Ohhhhhhrassssssssss
*airhorn*— FLYLO (@flyinglotus) July 29, 2019
Born and raised in South Central LA, Ras G started releasing records through the label arm of his longtime employer, Poo-Bah Records in Pasadena, California, and went on to work with Brainfeeder, Leaving Records, dublab and Stones Throw. Shorter referred to his studio as the “Spacebase”, referencing his commitment to a “ghetto sci-fi” philosophy notably influenced by Sun Ra’s Afrofuturist sonic approach.
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