Major Ace, one of the original grime MCs, has passed away. The death of the musician, real name Luke Moreno, was confirmed by his brother who revealed he had been suffering from a brain tumor for three years. He died on Sunday, October 8.

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Breaking the news on Instagram, Cass wrote: ‘My older bro Luke Monero/Major ace! has sadly passed away.. He was suffering from a brain tumour.. Love u 4eva bro ❤ LEGEND IN THE GAME.’

Broken 💔 A post shared by Cass superstar (@cass_superstar) on Oct 8, 2017 at 12:19pm PDT

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As a member of the Pay As U Go collective, Major Ace was among the first U.K. MCs pioneering the grime sound at the turn of the century. He was an original member of the group, that included Wiley, God's Gift, Flow Dan, Riko Dan, and Plague A Lero alongside DJs Slimzee, Geenius, and Target. Pay As U Go enjoyed U.K. chart success with "Champagne Dance" in 2001.

Major Ace would then go on to form East Connection with Maxwell D and God’s Gift following Pay As U Go's split in 2002.

Wiley was among the MCs paying tribute to Major Ace following the news of his death. See below for a round-up of reactions to the news.