Published
Wed, Oct 11, 2023, 18:00
- The designer, entrepreneur and musician had been diagnosed with giant cell tumour.
Leke Adesoye, a key figure in the history of jungle and drum & bass, has died.
Last year, a GoFundMe page was launched for Adesoye after his hospitalisation for the rare disease giant cell tumour. This followed a lifelong battle with sickle cell anemia (which he spoke about in an interview that same year). A fundraising compilation featuring a number of well-known drum & bass producers was also released. Adesoye's death was confirmed in an Instagram post from 2 Bad Mice founder Simon Colebrooke.
"You were there at the start of our stories," he wrote, "helping to create and define a movement."
Adesoye was a long-time figure in the jungle and drum & bass community, originally performing with Paradox and David Davies as part of the group Mixrace (who released on the pivotal English label Moving Shadow), and eventually starting the Aerosoul fashion companies. Aerosoul encompassed a number of brands, most notably Junglist Movement, whose clothes were featured in the cult 1999 film Human Traffic. Aerosoul also encompassed a number of other brands, including Hip Hop Movement, Babysoul, Soulero Sista and Aerosoul Africa.
Watch the famous scene from Human Traffic and read Colebrook's Instagram post.