Baba Oje of Arrested Development has died from acute leukemia, the hip-hop group announced on its website. He was 86 years old. In a statement, bandleader Speech wrote, “Baba was the oldest member of any hip-hop collective, and his mere presence in rap spoke volumes for the genre and for a generation looking for symbolic wisdom and answers.” Find Speech’s statement below.

Baba Oje was considered the “spiritual elder” of Arrested Development. In his statement, Speech said that he met Baba while he was in college and asked him to join the hip-hop group. Baba contributed to several AD records and performed with the band live. A statement on the group’s website reads: “He was an activist for the homeless, a military veteran, a world traveler, spiritual advisor to the group, strict vegan, dancer, vocalist, and avid roller skater.”