The hip-hop community has lost a young visionary.
R&B musician B. Smyth (born Brandon Smith) passed away on Nov. 17 after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis, according to his older brother Denzil. He was 28.
In an Instagram post shared on the same day, Denzil said that B. Smyth died of respiratory failure stemming from the lung disease.
"My brother was very excited to see a lot of you create challenges for his latest released single," Denzil captioned the post, referring to the song "Twerkaholic, Pt. 2."
He went on to share how the positive reactions to the track had on B. Smyth in his final days, saying, "While he was in the ICU, it really brought him a big smile to his face. So on behalf of my brother and my family we want to say thank you to all of you for all of your love & support throughout the years."
Denzil also posted a video sharing how B. Smyth always had his fans in mind during his "fight" with pulmonary fibrosis. "Being with him most of the time, he was talking about how much he loved his fans and how much his fans loved him," Denzil said. "He would always want to do his best to put out the best content."
He added that B. Smyth "was able to have a smoother process" thanks to the outpouring of love from fans. (Watch his tribute video here.)
B. Smyth rose to fame on YouTube and became known for his songs "Might Cuff You," "Ride Good," "Creep," "Leggo" and more.
The singer collaborated with artists like 2 Chainz and Future during his career, telling Complex in 2013, "It's definitely dope, especially me just being fans of those guys. To go from being a fan to being amongst them as my peers and doing records with them, it's really a blessing for me."
As for what he wanted fans to know about his style, B. Smyth said, "I'm not just a dancing guy. There's real talent here, real music and substance that's going to set me apart from everyone else. I sing, I dance, and I write but I feel like my music is great and people are going to gravitate to it. People will see I'm not just a gimmick. I'm not a gimmick."
Comedian Chico Bean, songwriter Derrick Milano and influencer Keeshlinooo were among those to mourn his passing. YouTuber Chyna Willis wrote, "This broke my heart, wow," while singer TORIÒN said, "prayers up King many blessings to the family."