Grime MC and producer Dot Rotten has died aged 37

Pioneering grime MC and producer Dot Rotten, real name Joseph Ellis-Stevenson, has died aged 37. 

The South London-born musician's death was confirmed by family members to BBC News today (March 9). Circumstances around his passing have not been confirmed, though several online reports cite that Ellis-Stevenson died in Africa.

Regarded as a pioneering figure in both the grime and UK rap scenes, Dot Rotten started rapping at age seven, using an Atari games console to learn music production. At 14, he took part in a rap battle alongside Tempman and Big Narstie in Brockwell Park.

At 19, Ellis-Stevenson released his debut mixtape 'This Is The Beginning', which he self-produced under the moniker Young Dot.

Following a string of releases as part of his 'Rotten Riddims' series, Ellis-Stevenson shared his first mixtape under the Dot Rotten alias, 'R.I.P. Young Dot', in July 2008. In 2011, he was signed to Mercury Records, on which he featured on a string of major pop releases from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Mz. Bratt and Cher Lloyd.

That same year, he released his debut single 'Keep It On A Low' as the first single from his 2013 album 'Voices in My Head'. The following three singles were more commercially successful, each placing in the Top 75 of the UK Singles Chart — including 'Overload' ft. TMS which peaked at Number 15. He was then nominated for the BBC Sound of 2012 in November 2011. 

Ellis-Stevenson later parted ways with Mercury Records, launching a series of production-focused releases under the alias Zeph Ellis, including a contribution to Logan Sama's 2015 'FABRICLIVE 83' mix titled 'XCXD BXMB'. The track was later sampled on Kano's 'Garage Skank' and AJ Tracey's 'Naila'. 

In more recent years, he reassumed his Dot Rotten alias, performing alongside Skepta, Wiley and more on Charlie Sloth's Fire in the Booth for BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra.

Several UK rap and grime figures have paid tribute to the late grime star, including Wiley and Rynsa Man, who shared a tribute via Instagram yesterday (March 8), writing: "One of the main reasons I carried on making music from the start. Love you forever bro. Rest in power."

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on X