Guru has died following a long battle with cancer that he had kept private

The hip-hop star, whose real name is Keith Alam, was admitted to hospital in February after suffering a cardiac arrest. He lapsed into a coma and had to undergo surgery, but details of his illness were not fully published.

Several hip-hop sources describe the 43-year-old as having suffered from an aggressive form of cancer for over a year, something he had decided to keep private.

The statement also includes a letter purportedly written by Guru during the final stages of his illness:

"I, Guru, am writing this letter to my fans, friends and loved ones around the world. I have had a long battle with cancer and have succumbed to the disease. I have suffered with this illness for over a year. I have exhausted all medical options. I have a non-profit organisation called Each One Counts dedicated to carrying on my charitable work on behalf of abused and disadvantaged children from around the world and also to educate and research a cure for this terrible disease that took my life. I write this with tears in my eyes, not of sorrow but of joy for what a wonderful life I have enjoyed and how many great people I have had the pleasure of meeting."

"I do not wish my ex-DJ to have anything to do with my name, likeness, events, tributes etc connected in anyway to my situation including any use of my name or circumstance for any reason and I have instructed my lawyers to enforce this. I had nothing to do with him in life for over seven years and want nothing to do with him in death."