Rapper and prominent marijuana advocate Black The Ripper has died, it has been revealed. He was 32.

The musician, real name Dean West, initially rose to fame with his hugely popular mixtapes Afro Samurai and Holla Black, which were released in the mid-noughties.

While he continued to make music in the years that followed, he eventually became a voice in the push to legalise marijuana in the UK.

RIP: Rapper and marijuana advocate Black The Ripper has died, it has been revealed. He was 32. The star (front) is pictured on the Caribbean island of Montserrat last week

While it’s known yet known how the star, also known as Ital Samson, died, a host of musicians took to Twitter to share their condolences as the news broke on Monday.

Fellow MC Chip, shared a snap of himself posing with the Edmonton, north London, MC in happier times, as he wrote: ‘RIP my brother,’ preceded by a heartbreak emoji.

Posting the same image on his Instagram account, Chip, a longtime friend of West, continued: ‘Real tears. I never cry. Rest in peace my bro. Forever here for your son.’

Advocate: After launching his music career in the early noughties, the star went on to become a prominent voice in calling for the legalisation of marijuana

Plants: In September 2017, posed outside London’s New Scotland Yard with two marijuana plants, writing: ‘Heard the police are looking for me so I’ve pulled up to #NewScotlandYard’

South London grime MC Novelist stated: ‘I can’t believe the news I’ve just got. I had good times with you cuz. Everyone’s gonna miss you. Rest in peace Black the ripper.’

Krept, of the duo Krept and Konan reacted to the news of West’s untimely death by writing: ‘No way black the ripper. R.I.P man f***inghell what a horrible year.’ [sic]

In what may have been his last publicly known picture, West was snapped posing with friends on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, where he has family ties.

In the shot, dated April 1, the star was seen posing front and centre as he leaned against a silver Mercedes as he donned a green T-shirt and blue Adidas shorts.

Captioning the image, the poster wrote: ‘2020 we isolated from the Bs. Stay woke @blacktheripper #corona #selflove #1link.’ [sic]

Last snapshot? In what may have been his last publicly known picture, West was snapped posing with friends on the Caribbean island of Montserrat, where he has family ties

Tributes: While it’s known yet known how the star, also known as Ital Samson, died, a host of musicians took to Twitter to share their condolences as the news broke on Monday

By Monday evening, a solitary picture of West was posted on the same account, alongside the words: ‘#hope ur at peace my brother This one too mad… RIP @blacktheripper.’

West made headlines in 2015, when he joined web comedy troop Trollstation to smoke inside a pod on the London Eye as surprised tourists looked on.

The group boarded the Eye at 4.20pm April 20 of that year – in celebration of 4/20 – to create a music video where they filmed one another smoking and dancing inside the capsule.

One year later, he also shared video footage of himself walking around as Asda supermarket as he openly smoked cannabis.

London Eye: West made headlines in 2015, when he joined web comedy troop Trollstation to smoke inside a pod on the London Eye as they celebrated 4/20

Police: Remaining defiant in his pro-marijuana stance, the star also shared snapshots of himself being confronted by police officers for openly carrying cannabis

After he shared the footage on his Dank of England Instagram account – from which a range of cannabis-related merchandise is sold – he attracted the attention of Asda.

An Asda spokesperson said in a statement at the time: ‘Asda is a family-friendly retailer and we expect all our customers to abide by the law and recognise the strict no-smoking policy we have in place across our stores.’ 

Remaining defiant in his pro-marijuana stance, the star also shared snapshots of himself being confronted by police officers for openly carrying cannabis. 

In September 2017,  also boldly posed outside London’s New Scotland Yard toting a pair of large marijuana plants, writing: ‘Heard the police are looking for me so I’ve pulled up to #NewScotlandYard and now I’m looking for them.’ 

The popular musician, who was born of Montserratian and Guyanese descent, is survived by a five-year-old son.

Island in the sun: In the shot, dated April 1, the star was seen posing front and centre as he leaned against a silver Mercedes as he donned a green Montserrat T-shirt

Respect: News of the musician’s death comes almost a year to the day after he posed outside the Los Angeles store belonging to slain rapper Nipsey Hussle to pay his respects