R&B Singer B. Smyth Dies At 28 From A Lingering Illness

"Twerkaholic" singer B. Smyth died on Thursday at age 28 after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis.

The singer's brother, Denzil, announced the sad news in a video message posted to Smyth's official Instagram page. "Today regretfully I have to announce that my brother has passed away this morning from respiratory failure after a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis," he wrote.

Denzil said the positive response to "Twerkaholic part 2" brought joy to the singer in his final days. "My brother was very excited to see a lot of you create challenges for his latest released single 'Twerkaholic part 2' while he was in the ICU, it really brought him a big smile to his face.""So on behalf of my brother and my family we want to say thank you to all of you for all of your love & support throughout the years. We ask for privacy during these difficult times," Denzil wrote to the fans.

Pulmonary fibrosis is a chronic lung disease that arises when the lung tissue becomes damaged (thickened) and scarred, according to Mayo Clinic. The damaged tissue makes it hard for the lungs to function making it harder for the patient to breathe properly. It takes more effort to breathe for a person with pulmonary fibrosis and the demand for energy to breathe leads to shortness of breath, the American Lung Association noted.

Exposure to asbestos, coal or silica leads to pulmonary fibrosis but certain medications are also known to cause this lung disease. Pulmonary fibrosis can also be hereditary.

Fans of the singer were shocked by the news.

"Please tell me this is a joke," one wrote in the comments section of the post.

"What the whole f***. Forever a legend and some one that inspired me to the artist I am. From watchin him get signed to Motown to when Leggo drop on mtv when I was in high school smfh so sorry man," another said.

Also known as Brandon Smith, B. Smyth began his career on Youtube singing covers of hits such as Usher's "Nice and Slow," Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" and Joe's "Things Your Man Won't Do." The success of his videos led him to perform in many talent shows before landing a record deal with Motown records in 2012. In the same year, he released his debut single "Leggo" featuring 2 Chainz which peaked at No. 12 on Billboard's Hot R&B Songs chart.

He released "Twerkoholic" in 2014 which scored over 13 million streams on Spotify, and followed it up with "Twerkoholic Part 2" in October which inspired a TikTok challenge.