Traci Braxton, musician and sister of Toni Braxton, has died at the age of 50 from esophageal cancer, her sister confirmed on Twitter. Alongside Toni and her other sisters Towanda, Trina, and Tamar, the five made up the R&B group the Braxtons. While the group did not have commercial success together, only releasing one song as a single, Traci, Towanda, Trina, and Tamar supported their sister Toni’s solo career and became backup singers for her on tour. Allegedly, Traci left the group in 1995 to become a youth pastor, but later it was revealed in the reality series Starting Over that she left the group due to her pregnancy. In 2011, the five sisters reunited on WE tv reality series Braxton Family Values, running for seven seasons. Traci found solo success hosting her own radio show, The Traci Braxton Show, on the BLIS.F.M. in 2013. Her son, Kevin Surratt Jr., memorialized his mother on his Instagram Saturday morning: “When I heard the news about my mother being sick first thing she said was I’m going to fight and beat this. She fought to the end and today she’s at peace. I love my mother forever and this hurts so much but I’m at peace knowing she’s isn’t in pain anymore.” She’s survived by her son; her husband, Kevin Surratt Sr.; her siblings; and her mother.
