Grime pioneer Dot Rotten has died at the age of 37, his family has confirmed to the BBC.
The musician, whose real name was Joseph Ellis, passed away, with online reports indicating he died in Gambia.
No further details regarding the circumstances of his death have been released.
Mr Ellis was born in Stockwell, south London, and became known for crafting a signature style that blended aggressive beats with emotionally resonant melodies.
Dot Rotten was a well-known figure in the Grime music scene
|
GETTY
Throughout his career, he collaborated with a diverse range of artists spanning the grime and pop worlds, from scene veterans Chip and D Double E to mainstream acts including Cher Lloyd and Ed Sheeran.
News of his passing prompted an outpouring of tributes from across the UK music industry.
His 2012 single Overload reached the Top 20, becoming his biggest commercial success. The track, which Mr Ellis described as inspired by his struggles with “a major depression”, was entirely improvised in the studio.
“The whole song was free-styled, I didn’t write one word for it,” he told Distract TV, noting his initial hesitation about releasing such deeply personal material.
Several tributes have flooded in for Dot Rotten
|
GETTY
“It’s not the song I wanted to come out with, but it’s done a lot and I appreciate all of the feedback I’ve been getting from it.”
Mr Ellis featured on Mr Sheeran’s track Goodbye to You and contributed to Ms Lloyd’s Dub on the Track.
Gary Barlow recruited him for the 2011 Children In Need charity single, a rendition of Massive Attack’s Teardrop alongside Chipmunk, Wretch 32, Labrinth, Ms Dynamite and Rizzle Kicks.
Mr Ellis began making music at just seven years old, creating tracks on an Atari computer system. His first mixtape, This Is the Beginning, appeared in 2007 when he performed as Young Dot.
Dot Rotten stepped back from mainstream music in recent years
The following year, he adopted the Dot Rotten moniker, an acronym standing for “Dirty on Tracks, Righteous Opinions Told to Educate Nubians”, while also nodding to EastEnders’ beloved character Dot Cotton.
His Rotten Riddims mixtape series, with six volumes released in a single month during summer 2008, was hailed by Clash magazine as establishing “a benchmark for production styles” within grime.
He famously clashed with Wiley, releasing diss tracks accusing the self-styled “king of grime” of selling out. Mr Ellis also maintained a long-running dispute with former collaborator P Money.
In later years, he stepped away from performing to focus on production work under the alias Zeph Ellis, crafting tracks for Kano and AJ Tracey.
Fellow grime artists took to social media to pay their respects following news of his death.
“Very sad news. Sleep well Dot,” wrote Sway, while KWest described him as “one of the greatest to do it”. Music manager and media personality Bouncer Play Dirty added: “Thoughts go out to his family. RIP to the brother.”
Broadcaster Amplify Dot and singer Terri Walker both posted broken heart emojis in response.
Perhaps most notably, his one-time rival Wiley also acknowledged the loss, sharing a video featuring one of Mr Ellis’s instrumentals accompanied by a dove emoji.
Shortly before his death, Mr Ellis had returned to recording under the Dot Rotten name with the single Psalms For Praize, in which he rapped about his renewed commitment to music: “Made mistakes, now I treat my career like a second child. And that’s an oath I stay committed to like a wedding vow.”
