R.I.P. Toronto MC King Reign

Kunle Thomas, better known as Toronto rapper King Reign, passed away yesterday (June 28) after falling into a coma resulting from a heart attack last week. He was 40.

Born in 1975 in Toronto to Trinidadian and Guyanese parents, Reign (an acronym for Rhyme Energy in God's Nature) wrote about issues including drug abuse, bullying, racial stereotypes and love with his debut solo full-length Sincere in 2014.

Reign was also a member of Scarborough, ON hip-hop outfit Brassmunk, with whom he secured a major label record deal with Sony and Juno Award nomination. He had also collaborated with Drake, Pharoahe Monch, Saukrates, Boi-1da, Rich Kidd and more.

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to contribute both to a memorial for the artist and towards the educational expenses of his two young children. You can find the campaign here.

Read Luke Fox's recently published interview he did with Reign in 2014 to better understand the man we miss.

RIP King Reign. Fuck man ... Im literally tearing up. That was my OG.

— RICH KIDD | R-WAY (@richkiddbeats) June 29, 2016

💔 @kingreignthe1st 👑
🌅 9.26.1975 - 6.28.2016 🌄
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.#RestInParadise #RestInPower #KingReign… https://t.co/r1LtL8BvFc

— S A T E (@stateofSATE) June 29, 2016

Wow!! R.I.P. King Reign. Prayers up for his family. 🙏🏾

— JD Era (@jdera) June 29, 2016

RIP King Reign.

— Del_F_Cowie (@vibesandstuff) June 29, 2016

 

RIP King Reign. Tru OG. You taught me a lot about the politics of the game. Always kept it a buck. We made a bunch of records together. We ripped stages together. You were always welcome in my home. And you would link me just to check up on me. I need to be more like you. The world should be more like you. #KingReign #Brassmunk

A photo posted by Rich Kidd (@richkiddbeats) on Jun 29, 2016 at 8:16am PDT