Justin Timberlake is mourning the loss of drummer John Blackwell, who passed away earlier this week (begs03Jul17).

The musician, who lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday (04Jul17) at the age of 43, was best known for being a part of Prince's band The New Power Generation, but he also worked with singer Patti LaBelle, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, and D'Angelo.

Blackwell also toured with Timberlake following the release of his FutureSex/LoveSounds album in 2006 and now the singer has paid his respects .

"RIP, John Blackwell," he writes on Twitter. "You are a kind, gentle soul and one special talent. You will be missed by myself and so many. God bless you, bro."