John Forté, celebrated recording artist, dies suddenly at 50

Updated Jan. 15

John Forté, a Grammy-nominated recording artist and loving father of two young children, died suddenly in his home in Chilmark on Monday. He was 50 years old. 

His death was confirmed by Chilmark Police, and a precise cause of death has not yet been officially determined. Forté was beloved among the community of musicians on the Island, and anyone who came across his path remembers him as generous, empathetic, and brilliant. 

On an Island already grieving the tragic deaths of four legends over the past few weeks, Forté’s death has compounded a collective wave of grief and shock, particularly over the loss of such a talented, nationally recognized artist in such a creative and productive period in his life. The loss is made even harder as he was a father always bursting with both pride and love for his children. 

Forté, who first visited Martha’s Vineyard in 1998 at the invitation of fellow musician Ben Taylor, fell in love with the Island and its sense of community. He moved here approximately 10 years later and met Lara Fuller, a freelance photographer who would become his wife and the mother of their children, Wren, 8, and Haile, 5. 

He built an elaborate recording studio in the basement of the Hewing Field home of his next-door neighbors and dear friends in Chilmark, Gogo Ferguson and her husband David Sayre. Their home, with its welcoming outdoor deck and stone fireplace, became a kind of hometown stage for Forté over the past decade, and he often participated in memorable jam sessions there with musicians from across the Island and all over the world. On that porch, he unfailingly brought not only original music but his uniquely generous spirit, his deep love for life — especially anything that he was doing with his two children — and his passion for thoughtful conversations with a close-knit circle of friends. In those conversations, Forté was a consummate listener.

Forté was known and loved on the Island by many through performances at Island venues with the legendary recording artist Carly Simon and her son, Ben Taylor, as well as many other musicians well-known to the Vineyard, including the Austin-based songwriter Peter More. Forté and More recently collaborated to write the score for a documentary film about the beat writer Jack Kerouac, titled “Kerouac’s Road: The Beat of a Nation.” In 2024, Forté completed work on the score for a six-part HBO series that revitalized “Eyes on the Prize,” the awardwinning documentary series that began on PBS in the ’80s. The series chronicles the Black experience in America in the wake of the civil rights era.

Summer resident of Oak Bluffs Dawn Porter, awardwinning documentary filmmaker and executive producer of the documentary series, noted that Forté had flown her and the crew to New Orleans to hear 12-year-old Fiona, cousin of Taylor and from the Island, sing the lead anthem.

For many years, Porter was a fan of Forté, and told The Times she contented herself with “random Island sightings of him, usually with his children.” One day, she connected with him, and when he saw the first cut of her film on Breonna Taylor and how the artist Amy Sherald painted her portrait, he said he knew the exact song for it. From then on, she said, their “collaboration continued in an even more meaningful way.”

“It was a profound experience watching him work. I am gutted at the loss of this beautiful human,” Porter said.

Chilmark Police Chief Sean Slavin said a neighbor discovered Forté alone on the kitchen floor Monday, and called 911 at 2:25 pm. Slavin said his officers Liz Rogers and Bret Stearns were the first to arrive at Forté’s home on Hewing Field in Chilmark, at 2:32 pm, and reported him not responsive and not breathing. Slavin said he arrived at 2:48 pm. 

Slavin said that Forté was pronounced dead at the scene, adding, “There is no foul play suspected.” Chapman’s Funeral Home took Forté’s body at approximately 4 pm.

Pending a report by the medical examiner’s office, the case is expected to fall to the Massachusetts State Police Detectives Unit, attached to the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office, as is standard operating procedure in what are known in police jargon as “unattended deaths.” Slavin, who knew Forté socially for many years, and is a longtime friend of the Fuller family, said, “It is such a small community, this death hits close to home. It’s the upside and the downside to living on such a small Island.” 

The news of his untimely death has devastated those who knew him on the Island. The cause of death has not yet been determined, Slavin said, but family friends confirm that Forté suffered a serious health setback one year ago when he was hospitalized after a seizure. Since then, Forté, who would have been 51 on Jan. 30, had been taking medication to control the threat of a grand mal seizure. 

On Monday night, there was one interior light still on inside Forté’s home, and his car was parked out front. The sudden death cut short a life that began in Brooklyn.

After coming of age in Brownsville, Brooklyn, where he chose to learn the violin, Forté, a gifted student, was invited to attend Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire on the suggestion of a junior high guidance counselor. He entered New York University as a music business major, and his roommate was the rapper Talib Kweli. Forté dropped out of NYU to work at Rawkus Records.

From there, he set out on a celebrated career, which began on a professional level when he was introduced to the Fugees by Lauryn Hill in the early 1990s. He co-wrote and produced several songs on the Fugees’ multi-platinum and Grammy-winning 1996 album “The Score.” At 21 years of age, Forté was nominated for a Grammy for his work on the album. 

Forté went on to tour all over the world with the Fugees, and lent both production and vocal performances to Wyclef Jean’s “The Carnival” in 1997. Forté also partnered with former Fugee member Pras for the hit single “Avenues” from the “Money Talks” soundtrack. Forté released his debut solo album, “Poly Sci,” produced by Wyclef Jean, in 1998. 

In 2000, Forté’s life took a dramatic turn when he was arrested at Newark International Airport with liquid cocaine. He was charged with possession and intent to distribute. While awaiting trial in 2001, Forté recorded the well-received “I, John” album. The album featured guest appearances by Herbie Hancock and included a duet with Carly Simon. Forté was convicted and sentenced to 14 years under the controversial mandatory minimum guidelines. He was incarcerated at a low-security federal prison in central Pennsylvania.

Simon and her son Ben Taylor championed Forté in prison, and became fierce advocates on his behalf, believing he did not receive a fair trial. They joined his fight for an appeal of the punitive mandatory minimum drug laws, which advocates for prison reform have long criticized for perpetuating mass incarceration.

In a 2009 profile in New York magazine, Forté said, “Carly is a mentor to me, a guide, absolutely my spiritual godmother.”

Forté’s prison sentence was commuted by President George W. Bush on Nov. 24, 2008, and he was released from prison four weeks later, just before Christmas.

His final album, “Vessels, Angels & Ancestors,” was released in 2021, and in a 2024 interview with Arts & Ideas, a magazine published by The Martha’s Vineyard Times, Forté was asked about the long journey of his music, and how all of the talented musicians he had had a chance to perform with impacted what he was currently working on. In his response, Forté’s love for his children shaped his answer.

“It’s mind-blowing. It really is. But the music that I think of most recently, its purpose — it feels like a time capsule for my children. I make music now that I really want my kids to like, when they’re able to receive it,” he said.

Editor’s note: A GoFundMe was created for help with living expenses and care for Forté’s children as well as unforeseen costs associated with his funeral. It can be found at bit.ly/GFM_ForteFamily.

This story was revised for accuracy and now includes the correct ages of Forté’s children. This is not the official obituary from Forté’s family; the family is writing an obituary and will post it once it’s available.