British rapper Ty succumbs to Covid-19, tributes pour in

Rapper Ben Chijioke alias Ty, died of Covid-19 on Thursday at the age of 47, after fighting for his life in hospital. The gravity of Ty's illness was evidenced by a  medically-induced coma in which he spent a couple of weeks. 

However, according to Ty's team, the rapper's situation showed some hope when the doctors took him out of  comma, and transferred him to a normal ward. 

This gave his fans hope, enticing them to revive a  fundraising drive to facilitate   Ty's health betterment, as his fundraisers confirmed on social media.

"I closed the page a few days ago but several people contacted me because they wanted to donate so I opened it again for a few days," said one of Ty's  fundraisers before his death

However, while in normal ward, the rapper contacted pneumonia, which worsened his situation again, as fundraising organizer Daine Laidlaw confirmed.

Ty contacted the Coronavirus in April and ever since then, he has been grappling with the disease in hospital. 

About the rapper

Born in London in 1972, the son of Nigerian immigrants, Ty, released his debut album ‘Awkward' in 2001, showcasing a tangibly British take on the US boom-bap style of hip-hop. Witty tracks like The Taleshowed off his talent for storytelling and earned him a cult audience.

Ty released his hot album, Upwards in 2003. This exposed Ty to a more competitive and more commercial industry in the UK, with directive competition from American rappers. The album also won Ty a nomination alongside Amy Winehouse and The Streets for the Mercury prize in 2004.