Early this morning (July 1), singer Rihanna took to her Twitter and sadly announced the death of her grandmother Clara Brathwaite – more affectionately known by family as Gran Gran Dolly – after a tough battle with cancer. Rihanna had been traveling back and forth between shows and Brooklyn where her grandmother lived to visit her for the past few months and chronicled her travels via Twitter and Instagram.

In her grief, the Bajan starlet shared photographs from her childhood, rise to stardom, and more recent visits featuring her beloved Dolly and received well wishes from her fans as well as Joyce Hawkins, her former boyfriend Chris Brown‘s mother:

@rihanna ANGEL MAY GOD BE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY IN YOUR TIME OF SORROW. LOVE YOU ANGEL

Though he is gearing up for his performance at the BET Awards later tonight, Brown also gave Rihanna his condolences, tweeting:

Praying for family and the lost loved one. She was like my grandmother. Love you GRAN GRAN! RIP

The news may have come directly before Rihanna went on to perform at Sweden’s Peace & Love Music Festival Saturday evening, where fans weren’t particularly impressed with her set that included a rendition of Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” as they complained about her tardiness and shaky performance.

We would like to give Rihanna and her family our well wishes and condolences in this trying time. RIP Gran Gran Dolly.

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