Diabetes has claimed the life of another member of the Hip-Hop community. P.M. Dawn’s Prince Be passed away earlier today, at the age of 46, from renal kidney disease. According to TMZ, the condition was a result of complications related to diabetes.

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Born Attrell Cordes, Be formed P.M. Dawn with his brother, Jarett (aka DJ Minutemix) in 1988. The group rose to fame with the breakout success of their single, “Set Adrift On Memory Bliss,” which featured a prominent sample of Spandau Ballet’s “True.” Their 1992 single, “I’d Die Without You,” which was included on the soundtrack for Eddie Murphy’s film Boomerang, met with similar commercial success, achieving a certification of Gold, for 500,000 copies sold.

Despite the group’s success, or perhaps because of it, they became the subject of ignominy in certain Hip-Hop circles, when, after Be said of KRS-One in an interview “KRS-One wants to be a teacher, but a teacher of what?,” KRS later rushed the stage during a P.M. Dawn concert and unceremoniously took over their show, performing three Boogie Down Productions songs. At the time, the incident took on mythic proportions, as a symbol of underground versus mainstream Hip-Hop acts.

Cordes’ death from diabetes-related complications is the second for Hip-Hop this year, following the loss of A Tribe Called Quest’s Phife Dawg. Recently, Freeway and Yo! MTV Raps’ Doctor Dre have also been very vocal about their struggles with the disease.

Ambrosia For Heads extends its deepest condolences to the family, friends and fans of Prince Be.