P.E.A.C.E. obit

Hip-Hop Mourns The Passing Of Freestyle Fellowship Rapper P.E.A.C.E.

 He was not on the list.

Hip-Hop fans are gathered in mourning the loss of a pioneering rapper from Los Angeles’ sprawling underground Hip-Hop scene. P.E.A.C.E., a member of Freestyle Fellowship, passed away over the weekend, and social media has been flooded with moving tributes.

Details are scant regarding the passing of P.E.A.C.E., but the official Instagram account for Freestyle Fellowship shouted out the rapper in a post sharing condolences.

“Rest well brother P.E.A.C.E [flying angels emojis]. You had a great heart and you were authentic. One of West coast Hiphop royal treasures. You will be surely missed my friend,” read the caption of the post with a photo of the rapper.

Mtulazaji Davis, better known by his stage name P.E.A.C.E., was an American rapper from Los Angeles, California. He was a member of Freestyle Fellowship along with Aceyalone, Myka 9 and Self Jupiter. He released two solo albums.

P.E.A.C.E. grew up mostly in Los Angeles, California. However, he stated that he lived in Dallas, Texas for about ten years. In elementary school, he played the accordion. He picked up the double bass when he had joined his school's marching band. When he returned to Los Angeles, he started playing the saxophone.

In an interview, P.E.A.C.E. stated he started rapping in his high school years in the mid to late 1980s. One of his friends had told him that there was a guy who rapped just like him at The Good Life Cafe, a local open-mic venue, named Myka 9. Not believing his friend, he went to go check out Myka 9 at The Good Life Cafe. P.E.A.C.E. waited around for a while, but Myka 9 didn't show up. So then he got up on stage and performed for a bit and blew a few whigs back. With no luck, he had to wait until the next Thursday night. When he returned, Myka 9 was there. He listened to him perform and somewhat agreed with his friend. They both had the fast rapping down, but Myka 9 had his own style. Aceyalone was there that night and had asked P.E.A.C.E. what his name was. He said "Mtulazaji". Aceyalone then asked what his rap name was and he replied with "P.E.A.C.E.".

Released independently and distributed by tape collectors, Freestyle Fellowship's first album To Whom It May Concern... was a landmark. Although it only contains a few songs where they all rap together, each individual rapper's songs truly showcased each of their styles. P.E.A.C.E. had two songs, "Physical Form" and "For No Reason", on the album. Their second album, Innercity Griots, has been described as "an acknowledged underground masterpiece".

He released his first solo album, Southern Fry'd Chicken, in 2000. His second solo album, Megabite, was released in 2004.