John Blackwell Jr., Prince’s Former Drummer, Dies at 43

One of Prince’s drummers, 43-year-old John Blackwell Jr., has died in Florida.

Blackwell’s wife, Yaritza Blackwell, said Tuesday in a post on his official Instagram account that he died “peacefully” in her company. She thanked God for his life and his fans for their support.

The Tampa-based Blackwell was Prince’s drummer for more than a decade.

The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office did not respond to a message seeking confirmation of Blackwell’s death.

A GoFundMe account set up by his wife said Blackwell was in the process of getting tested for “what the doctors think may be tumors in his brain.” The fund, set up about four months ago, had raised about $79,000.

 

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. Yaritza

A post shared by John Blackwell (@johnblackwelljr) on Jul 4, 2017 at 10:28am PDT