“Our father was our rock and our best friend. Papa Bear loved us and taught us so much. Hundreds of emails, texts, chats and beautiful posts and comments on social media, have shown us that Dad was a fountain of strength to so many,” the statement continued. “He encouraged and comforted pretty much everyone in his path and left this dimension with an untouchable creative legacy. We are grateful beyond words for our time with Dad and are overwhelmed by the immeasurable global outpouring of love from around the world. We will forever navigate this catastrophic loss and ask for continued privacy.”

As TMZ noted, the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s office lists XL’s official cause of death as asphyxia as a result of ligature hanging.

XL was 50 when news of his death was announced. As the revered lyricist behind four solo albums, including his notable 1996 debut, Here to Save You All, a number of other MCs paid tribute to XL following his passing, including the legendary Chuck D, Open Mike Eagle and R.A. the Rugged Man.

A fifth album from XL, a posthumous release titled Darkness and Other Colors, is expected to drop later this year, according to MassLive.com, which also noted that the rapper reportedly left instructions for his family to release the album.