Freestyle Fellowship Rapper P.E.A.C.E. Has Died

"In the 1990s, Freestyle Fellowship helped further the West Coast's take on frantic, back-and-forth freestyling between rappers, serving as California's jazz-inspired answer to New York's own renaissance with Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest in the Native Tongues collective. The hip-hop quartet-founded by P.E.A.C.E, Aceyalone, Myka 9, and Self Jupiter-constantly pushed each member to stay on his toes across his career, with P.E.A.C.E. often punching up his verses with extra enunciation and speed in frequently overlooked ways."

"Born Mtulazaji Davis, P.E.A.C.E. grew up in Dallas before relocating to Los Angeles, where he funneled his creativity into playing numerous instruments. While attending high school in the 1980s, he took to hip-hop and began rapping, eventually becoming a regular at Good Life Café, the South Central Los Angeles cafe whose open mics became a hotspot for the city's underground rap scene. P.E.A.C.E. bonded with cafe regulars Aceyalone, Myka 9, and Self Jupiter and the four decided to form a proper group."

Mtulazaji "P.E.A.C.E." Davis, a founding member of Los Angeles hip-hop group Freestyle Fellowship, has died; the group shared condolences on social media and did not disclose a cause of death. Freestyle Fellowship pioneered a jazz-influenced, rapid back-and-forth freestyling style on the West Coast during the 1990s and presented a conscious alternative to gangsta rap. P.E.A.C.E. was known for enunciated, speedy verses that challenged his groupmates. Born in Dallas, he moved to Los Angeles, developed musicianship, began rapping in high school, became a Good Life Café regular, and helped form the group with Aceyalone, Myka 9, and Self Jupiter.

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