Trailblazing UK rapper Sway DaSafo dies at 44
British-Ghanaian rapper Sway DaSafo, the first unsigned artist to win a Mobo Award in 2006 and the 2012 Top 10 hit Level Up, has died at age 44 at his home in Ghana; no cause of death has been announced. Born Derek Andrew Safo in London and raised in north London, he rose via pirate radio and 1Xtra, ran the Dcypha label, earned a Mercury Prize nomination for This Is My Demo, and mentored artists like Tiggs Da Author and KSI. He battled Hodgkin lymphoma in 2010, went into remission, and was reportedly working on new music at his death; he is survived by four children. Tributes from the Mobo Awards and fellow artists followed the news.
