DJ E-Z Rock, who partnered up with his longtime friend and rapper Rob Base for a string of major singles in the late '80s, in the form of 'It Takes Two' and 'Joy and Pain,' has reportedly died.

DJ E-Z Rock, born Rodney Bryce, was just 46. Details about his passing are unclear as of press time, with his longtime cohort Rob Base posting the news via a short blurb on Facebook and then seemingly deleting it, according to multiple sources, including WENN and Complex.

The rapper reportedly wrote: "R.I.P Skip (DJ EZ Rock) friends since 4th grade I’m really going to miss you." That post has since gone MIA, but it was screen capped and posted on Twitter. You can see a tweet with the initial posting by Base below.

The hip-hop community reacted instantly to the passing. You can see a rundown of those who paid their respects to E-Z Rock here.

The cause of death and further information about his survivors is unavailable. Rolling Stone eventually confirmed the news.

However, children of the '80s will remember Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock's contributions to that era of pop music, since their hip-hop jams mixed rap with insanely catchy dance music. They enjoyed multi-platinum sales and their songs have been sampled by everyone from Snoop Dogg to Ciara over the years.

We will update you with further information as it becomes available.

More From PopCrush