John Forté, musician associated with the Fugees, found dead at 50

John Forté, the Grammy-nominated musician who worked with the Fugees and the Refugee Camp All-Stars, was found dead Monday afternoon in his home in Chilmark, Massachusetts, according to police. He was 50. Chilmark police chief Sean Slavin said in a statement there were no signs of foul play or a “readily apparent cause of death”.

The case is being investigated by the state medical examiner’s office, Slavin said. A native of New York City, Forté was described as a musical prodigy who broke through in his early 20s as a contributor to the Fugees’ Grammy-winning The Score and to Wyclef Jean’s Grammy-nominated The Carnival.

A multi-instrumentalist and rapper, he also released solo albums including Poly Sci and I John, with contributors such as Carly Simon; his final album, Vessels, Angels & Ancestors, was released in 2021. Simon’s son Ben Taylor was a close friend of Forté’s. Forté was arrested in 2000 at Newark international airport and charged with possession of liquid cocaine and drug trafficking.

He was sentenced to 14 years in prison, but the sentence was commuted after seven years by president George W Bush. Simon publicly advocated for his release; Forté once said of her, “She’s my champion, my crusader, my mentor, my friend, my spiritual guru. She’s an awesome human being.” Writing for Vanity Fair in 2013, Simon referred to him as her godson and called his punishment “hugely unfair”.

Key Topics

Culture, John Forté, Fugees, Wyclef Jean, Chilmark, New York City