"We are sad to relay that John Singleton has died," the family said in a statement. "John passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends."
Earlier on Monday, the family said it had made the "agonising decision" to withdraw life support from Singleton, who was being cared for at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles since having a stroke on April 17.
Singleton was a native of South Central Los Angeles, the community that was the setting for Boyz n the Hood, a drama about friendship amid the peril of gang violence.
He became the first African-American and the youngest person to be nominated for an Academy award for best director, at age 24, for the movie, which he also wrote.
Singleton later directed films such as action film 2 Fast 2 Furious and historical drama Rosewood. He also directed episodes of TV shows including Empire and Billions.
Most recently, Singleton was the co-creator and executive producer of FX network TV series Snowfall about the start of the cocaine epidemic in Los Angeles.
His family said Singleton was "a prolific, ground-breaking director who changed the game and opened doors in Hollywood, a world that was just a few miles away, yet worlds away, from the neighbourhood in which he grew up."
He also "loved nothing more than giving opportunities to new talent" including Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Ice Cube and Taraji P. Henson, the family said.
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Hollywood celebrities paid tribute to Singleton.
"Rest In Power, my friend. One of the greatest to ever do it. Thank you GOD for blessing us with this gift better known as John Singleton." Boyz N the Hood actor Regina King said via Instagram.
"With His Passion, His Heart, The Way He Talked About His Love For Cinema And Black Folks I Could See John Would Make It Happen. And He Did. From Day One." - Spike Lee posted on Instagram.
"John was a brave artist and a true inspiration. His vision changed everything," filmmaker Jordan Peele wrote on Twitter.
"Thank you for all that you gave to the world the movies the messages the opportunities to so many people like myself to grace the big screen in a major role with major black actors you were and will allways be black excellence love you for life and beyond." - Snoop Dogg, via Instagram.
- Reuters and AP
