John Forté’s Cause Of Death Revealed
John Forte, who died after being found unresponsive at his home in January, died of complications from the flu.
Black News 
The cause of death has been released for recording artist John Forté, who was found unresponsive at his home in January, confirming he died from complications of the flu.
According to the Vineyard Gazette, the state medical examiner in Massachusetts determined Forté died from complications of influenza A, with a seizure disorder listed as a contributing condition. The findings were released April 24.
At the time of his death, Police Chief Sean Slavin stated that there was no foul play suspected. He was 50 years old. Police were called to Forté’s home on Jan. 12, where he was found unresponsive.
Forté was introduced to the world when he appeared on The Fugees’ 1996 debut album, The Score. He recorded several albums, the first, Poly Sci, was released in 1998, two years before he served time in prison after being convicted on drug possession charges. He was given a mandatory 14-year prison sentence, but was released in 2008 after President George W. Bush commuted his sentence.
During his lengthy career, he recorded and produced songs for his own projects and contributed to others’. In recent years, he has been working primarily on scores for several projects.
In 2025, he participated in the Civil Rights documentary Eyes on the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest (1977-2015), which aired on HBO. He worked with fellow island resident Dawn Porter on the project.
After visiting Martha’s Vineyard in 1998 and staying there during the pandemic, he thrived in the industry. In an interview he did last year with MV Arts and Ideas, he said, “For two decades, I’ve been contributing to soundtracks. But scoring, scoring really happened for me because I’ve been hunkering down here on the Vineyard, being able to have a project that would require going in my studio for three months at a time.”
Forté is survived by his wife, Lara Fuller, and their two children, Haile and Wren.
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