John Blackwell Jr., former drummer for music icon Prince, died at age 43 in Florida, his wife posted on social media.
The news was shared online Tuesday by his wife Yaritza in a post on Blackwell's Instagram account.
The caption on the photo read: "My husband incredible drummer John Blackwell Jr. passed the way peacefully in my company today. Thanks God for his life and thanks everyone for their support."
A post shared by John Blackwell (@johnblackwelljr) on
Blackwell, who performed with Prince for 15 years, was considered a master drummer and was known for his unique style of drumming, CBS affiliate WLTX-TV in South Carolina reports. Blackwell was a native of Columbia, South Carolina.
The station adds that Blackwell performed with a number of other high profile artists including Patti LaBelle, Justin Timberlake and Cameo.
Last year, Blackwell was told he had two brain tumors while he was on a trip in Japan.
Blackwell's health was again chronicled in an Instagram post saying he faced another challenge earlier this year when he needed to go to a rehab facility.
A post shared by John Blackwell (@johnblackwelljr) on
A GoFundMe page was set up to help cover his medical bills that reached more than $78,000 in donations as of Tuesday.
Blackwell said last fall Prince was like a father figure to him and recruited him to play with him, WLTX reports. One of his last performances was with guitarist Terence Young.
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