Anticon Cofounder Brendon “Alias” Whitney Has Died

Brendon Whitney, who co-founded the influential rap label Anticon and released music as Alias, has died at 41. News of Whitney's passing was shared by Sage Francis, a collaborator and friend of the musician Saturday. "Our great friend and longtime collaborator Brendon Whitney (@AliasAnticon) passed away of a heart attack yesterday," wrote Francis on Twitter. "No one was nicer. No one. We love you, Bren." Anticon later released a statement of their own confirming Whitney's death.

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Whitney co-founded Anticon with rapper Sole, with whom he also performed as Live Poets, a band that eventually became Deep Puddle Dynamics, who released music through the label. Other co-founders included fellow musicians Doseone, Jel, Odd Nosdam, Pedestrian, and Yoni Wolf. Since 1998 the label has included, for some portion of time, Why?, Buck 65, Sage Francis, Antwon, Young Fathers, and many others among their roster. The collective has also produced groups like Clouddead and Subtle, who released albums on other indie labels.

Whitney released his last solo album Pitch Black Prism in 2014. He has released 9 full-length projects as Alias, many of them collaborations, over the course of his career.