John "Ecstasy" Fletcher of hip-hop trio Whodini is dead, according to The Roots' Questlove.
In a short, yet touching post, The Roots' drummer revealed that Ecstasy had died at the age of 56. A cause of death has not been revealed.
"One Love to Ecstasy of the Legendary #Whodini," he captioned a black-and-white photo. "This man was legendary and a pivotal member of one of the most legendary groups in hip hop. This is sad man."
The group — originally comprising Jaili Hutchins, Grandmaster Dee and Ecstasy — was responsible for their influential approach to rap with songs such as "Freaks Come Out at Night," "One Love" and "Five Minutes of Funk" in the mid-1980s.
The group's influence is far-ranging and has been sampled over the years — Will Smith's "Potnas" and Tupac Shakur's "Troublesome '96" sample Whodini's song "Friends." Meanwhile, Beck sampled "Five Minutes of Funk" in his 1996 track "Gold Chains."
"A TREMENDOUS LOSS OF OUR HEROES… NO ONE DID IT LIKE THIS… THE VOICE, THE ZORRO STYLE HAT, THE ICONIC HIP HOP THAT WHODINI BRINGS TO HIP HOP… [R.I.P. Ecstasy]," wrote DJ Premier along with a video of Ecstasy performing . "SALUTE JALIL AND GRANDMASTER DEE… LOVE TO THE FLETCHER FAMILY…"
"RIP to Ecstasy from Whodini.one of the most under appreciated voices in hip hop. Too many hits! Condolences to his fam." tweeted A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip.
"1987 I entered the @Defjam tour w [Public Enemy]. I tended to be nervous looking at 15000 fans in front of me every night. There were 2 MCS that directly mentored my calm that summer. 1 was @RealDougEFresh the other was Ecstacy of Whodini," wrote rapper Chuck D."Always there to reassure w advice tips #RestInBeats"
"My God, this one hurts me so bad,I can’t even believe I’m posting this,Ex you know I love you thank you for every word,every conversation every good time,may your soul Rest In Power #whodini," tweeted rapper Jermaine Dupri.
The rap group released several albums, including Escape in 1984, which was certified platinum. The two albums that followed, Back in Black and Open Sesame, were gold-certified by the RIAA.
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