Chuck Brown, credited with the creation of go-go, died on Wednesday (May 16).

Brown’s manager confirmed that the bandleader died from complications from sepsis, reports the Washington Post. Brown had been hospitalized for pneumonia.

Regarded as the “Godfather of Go-Go,” Brown was credited with creating the sub-genre of funk in the mid-1970s, which became wildly popular in Washington, D.C. and the surrounding area.

The call-and-response brand of funk has fused with Hip Hop in recent years, with many D.C. go-go artists covering songs by various Hip Hop acts. The name of the genre, according to Brown, came from the fact that “the music just goes and goes.”

Washington, D.C. emcee Wale took to Twitter to pay his respects to the fallen legend:

@Wale
Wale Folarin RIP to the Legend …Chuck Brown. u will be missed worldwide. #dcornothing
May 16 via Echofon Favorite Retweet Reply

Brown was 75 years old.