Tina Turner's Son Ike Turner Jr. Dead at 67

Ike Turner Jr., the son of music legends Tina Turner and Ike Turner, has died at the age of 67.

The news was confirmed by Tina Turner's niece, Jacquline Bullock, in a statement to the New York Post.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my cousin, Ike Turner Jr.," Bullock said. "'Junior' was more than a cousin to me, but rather a brother, as we grew up in the same famed household together."

Bullock described Turner Jr. as a gifted musician who displayed his talent from an early age.

"As the son of Tina and Ike Turner, from an early age, his talents were evident as there wasn't an instrument he did not want to play," she said. "While he favored the drums early on, my aunt and his mother, Tina Turner, insisted that he break down his drum kit after each practice. This led him to favor the keys. Eventually, Junior would end up helping to run Bolic Sound Studios, the recording studios founded by his father, Ike Turner."

Bullock added that, while Turner Jr. "faced the same challenges," he would become "a sought-after sound engineer, musician, and Grammy winner for Best Traditional Blues Album in 2007 for his father's 'Risin' With The Blues.'" 

Bullock did not specify a cause of death, though TMZ reported that Turner Jr. died from kidney failure. 

Born in 1958 to Ike Turner Sr. and Lorraine Taylor, Turner Jr. was later adopted by Tina Turner after her marriage to Ike Turner Sr. 

"Tina raised me from the age of 2. She's the only mother I've ever known," he told the Daily Mail in 2018.

Turner Jr. began touring with his father at age 13 after being taken out of school. 

"I ended up running his recording studio, plus going on the road with them," he recalled. "They made a lot of money on tour and my father used to make me count it until my hands were gray."

He later produced his father's 2006 album "Risin' With The Blues," which earned them a Grammy Award.

Turner Jr. had a complicated relationship with both parents. In the 2018 Daily Mail interview, he said he had not spoken to Tina Turner in years. 

He also alleged that his father had been physically abusive, claiming Ike Turner Sr. "beat me in the head with a nickel-plated .45 pistol" after he briefly worked for Tina Turner following their 1978 divorce.

In May 2023, Turner Jr. was arrested in Alvin, Texas, for possession of crack cocaine and tampering with evidence. 

Police said he was pulled over for a light violation and was found with 1.7 grams of crack cocaine and 0.7 grams of methamphetamine. 

He was sentenced to jail 18 days before Tina Turner's death at age 83.

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