Los Angeles-bred MC P.E.A.C.E., a member of Freestyle Fellowship along with Myka 9, Self Jupiter and Aceyalone, has died. Social media tributes started pouring in on Saturday (October 26).
Freestyle Fellowship posted from their official Instagram account, writing, “Rest well brother P.E.A.C.E 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️ You had a great heart and you were authentic. One of West coast Hiphop royal treasures. You will be surely missed my friend.”
Condolences from fellow members of the Los Angeles Hip-Hop community peppered each post—from Daddy Kev and Exile to the Visionaries and DJ Rhettmatic.
No cause of death has been revealed. AllHipHop has reached out to members of Freestyle Fellowship for more information.
P.E.A.C.E. grew up mostly in L.A. and, after exploring instruments like the accordion and double bass, started rapping during high school years. Much like his crewmates, he honed his skills at The Good Life Cafe, a local open-mic venue South Central L.A.
Freestyle Fellowship’s first album, To Whom It May Concern…, was released in 1991 and highlighted their individual rhyming styles. Their second album, Innercity Griots, has been described as “an acknowledged underground masterpiece.”
P.E.A.C.E. released his first solo album, Southern Fry’d Chicken, in 2000 and followed up with Megabite in 2004.
In 2008, he was also featured in the award-winning documentary This Is the Life, which chronicled The Good Life Cafe’s impact on underground West Coast Hip-Hop.
P.E.A.C.E. and his Freestyle Fellowship brethren played a groundbreaking role in shaping West Coast underground Hip-Hop by steering L.A. rap away from gangsta narratives toward a more experimental, lyrical and jazz-infused sound. Their aforementioned albums established the blueprint for West Coast alternative rap, influencing artists such as The Pharcyde, Hieroglyphics and even Bone Thugs-n-Harmony with their experimental cadences and harmonized flows.
In an era dominated by G-funk and commercial gangsta rap, Freestyle Fellowship helped build the foundation of L.A.’s underground Hip-Hop community, later embodied by the Project Blowed collective, their artistic home and one of the longest-running open mic workshops in the genre’s history.
AllHipHop sends our condolences to all of P.E.A.C.E.’s loved ones.
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