The musician had been battling cancer for a decade.
Leonard "Hub" Hubbard, the co-founder of The Roots and the band's original bassist, has died, the group announced on Thursday. He was 62.
"It is with the heaviest of hearts that we say goodbye to our brother Leonard Nelson Hubbard," The Roots captioned a black-and-white photo of Hubbard. "May your transition bring peace to your family to your friends to your fans and all of those who loved you. Rest in Melody Hub."
The Roots' keyboard player, James Poyser, tweeted about Hubbard's death, writing, "My bro Hub…#Godspeed."
Though Hubbard's wife, Stephanie Hubbard, told Philadelphia's 6ABC that he was energetic days before his death, he became unable to move the day before he died. She took him to the hospital when things took a turn for the worse, but she was unable to stay with him due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"I was called to the hospital," she said. "They told me what had happened that he had passed. I went to the hospital and was able to sit with him."
Hubbard had been battling cancer for more than a decade, after being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in 2007, his widow said.
He stopped touring with The Roots, with whom he recorded seven albums, after his diagnosis, though he continued producing music and did reunite with the band twice after his exit.
News of Hubbard's death comes over a year after Roots founding member Malik B. died. He was 47.
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