John Singleton

John Singleton - who suffered a stroke recently - has his life support machine switched off yesterday.

For those of you who may not know him, Singleton is a popular director who made films like Boyz N The Hood and Poetic Justice.

I have a lot to thank Singleton. Especially from my childhood.

I didn't follow rap music at all when I first came across Boyz N The Hood, Ice Cube's part as Doughboy in the movie got me interested in his career.

Ice Cube was my gateway to following that genre of music back in my teens. I'm not sure I would have made it there if it wasn't for Singleton's movie.

Tupac Shakur turned out to be my favourite gangsta rapper. He too was talented enough to be cast in a Singleton movie as he starred as Lucky.