A multi-genre music legend known as the Godfather of Neo Soul is dead at age 84.

Roy Ayers, the jazz vibraphonist best known for the 1976 hit “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” died Tuesday in New York City, according to Variety. A cause of death was not announced, but his family said he had “a long illness.”

Ayers began his career in the 1960s, pioneering jazz-funk sounds that led to the neo-soul movement with his mix of R&B, disco, post-bop and acid jazz. He released dozens of albums, both solo and as Roy Ayers Ubiquity, and collaborated with a variety of artists like Rick James, Kanye West, Whitney Houston and The Roots.

His iconic vibraphone sound influenced generations of artists, and became one of the most sampled musicians in hip-hop. Ayers can be heard on classics like Mary J. Blige’s “My Life,” Naughty By Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebum,” Common’s “First Days of the New School,” Junior M.A.F.I.A.‘s “Get Money” and The Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By (Fly as Pie Remix),” plus newer songs like Tyler, the Creator’s “Pothole” and Weiss’ EDM hit “Feel My Needs.”

Ayers also worked as a movie composer, writing and producing the soundtrack for the 1973 blaxploitation film “Coffy” starring Pam Grier. He hosted the fictional radio station “Fusion FM” in the 2008 video game “Grand Theft Auto IV.”

Over the past two decades, he dabbled in house music, founded multiple record labels, and collaborated with artists like Erykah Badu, Ali Shaheed Muhammad (of ATCQ) and Tyler, the Creator (on “Find Your Wings”). He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Congress of Racial Equality in 2011.

Survivors include Ayers’ wife Argerie and two children.