Rapper Cadet, real name Blaine Cameron Johnson, has died in a car crash whilst on his way to a gig in Staffordshire. He was 28-years-old.
Johnson, who was due to perform at Wireless Festival this summer, was a passenger in a taxi when a collision occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning (February 9).
The news was revealed by Johnson’s family in a post on Instagram. The statement read: “We The Family of Blaine Cameron Johnson otherwise known as Cadet…would like to share the sad news that during the early hours of 9th February 2019 he passed away as a passenger in a taxi, en route to a performance.
“Right now we the family appreciate your patience and we will share with you any information as and when we can.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Btp1uBbBebz/
Johnson’s manager also gave a statement to Radio 1 Newsbeat and confirmed that the 28-year-old was a passenger in a taxi whilst on his way to perform at Keele University.
In a statement, Staffordshire Police said: “Emergency services attended and a passenger of the Toyota, a 28-year-old man from London, sadly died at the scene.
“The drivers of both vehicles, a 36-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent and a 22-year-old man from Crewe, were taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital with serious injuries. Three further passengers of the Toyota were treated at Leighton Hospital in Crewe.”
Meanwhile, tributes have been paid to the rapper on social media this morning. You can read a selection of these below.
Heart-broken. Cadet was truly such a lovely human. We first filming 2 years ago and was taken aback by his incredibly funny and kind personality. Even though we were not close I, like many others, have been so proud and excited to see Cadet grow as an artist ❤️💔 RIP Cadet Cadet pic.twitter.com/YhpkC6Kjkl
— Amelia Dimoldenberg (@ameliadimz) February 9, 2019
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and fans, of Cadet.
Such sad news.We’ll be keeping his Wireless performance as a time to reflect on the memory of Blaine.
— Wireless Festival (@WirelessFest) February 9, 2019
https://twitter.com/realmostack/status/1094183283389353984
Waking up to this is heartbreaking, he was finally getting the recognition he deserved 😔
RIP Cadet 🙏🏻
— Wedgeman Simon (@miniminter) February 9, 2019
RIP my lil bro 💔💔💔💔 #Cadet #UnderratedLegend Life can be so cruel. Thinking of the family, friends and all his fans 🙏🏾
— Ian Wright (@IanWright0) February 9, 2019
Heartbroken to hear about Cadet. He was a true story teller and from my neck of the woods.
The music is forever my g.
— Loyle (@LoyleCarner) February 9, 2019
RIP Cadet. Our thoughts are with his family and friends ❤️ pic.twitter.com/peja1c36FA
— BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) February 9, 2019
Cant believe it…
I was on stage with him last week . Never seen a man so happy. Everything was working out for him.
This was gonna be his year. We were plottin on the best time to do an interview on his next single.
Rip Cadet 🙏🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/Nwy65RUqbJ— DJ Semtex (@DJSemtex) February 9, 2019
Was chatting to you only last week about how excited you were for some festivals this summer. So much positive energy. Smiling nonstop when I was with you, first time we met I felt as if I’d known you my whole life. Mad humble guy. RIP Cadet 💔😢😢
— example (@example) February 9, 2019
Cadet regularly appeared on BBC Radio 1Xtra and was last seen performing at MistaJam’s Christmas Party last year.
The 28-year-old was due to perform at this summer’s Wireless Festival. Tweeting about the tragedy, the festival have revealed that his performance slot will be kept “as a time to reflect on the memory of Blaine.”
They added: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and fans, of Cadet. Such sad news.”
This is a developing news story…