Dem Franchize Boyz Rapper Buddie Dies from Cancer

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Dem Franchize Boyz lost one of their own this weekend -- Gerald "Buddie" Tiller passed away from what appears to be cancer, according to the group itself.

DFB posted the sad news Sunday, writing on Instagram ... "R.I.P. Buddie you Will be Missed #demfranchizeboyz." Jermaine Dupri -- who signed the group to his So So Def label in 2005 and pretty much put them on with their smash hit, "Lean wit It, Rock wit It" -- also spoke on Buddie's death, and seemed to suggest he'd died from cancer.

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