Legendary jazz-funk pioneer Roy Ayers dies at 84, leaving a lasting impact on music with his groundbreaking fusion of jazz, soul and funk.

He helped introduce a funkier strain of the music in the 1970s. He also had an impact on hip-hop: His “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” has been sampled nearly 200 times.

Musicians have been paying tribute to the "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" icon, whose influence has shaped R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul.

Roy Ayers, the vibraphonist, composer, and record producer whose groove instinctively pushed jazz to its soulful outer limits of hipness, inspiring a legion of hip hop artists to sample his huge catalogue of music,

The composer was known for his often-sampled 1976 album "Everybody Loves the Sunshine" and a career that spanned six decades.