Georgia rapper Lil Poppa, who made such smash hits as “Love & War” and “Purple Hearts,” died on Wednesday. He was only 25.
The unfortunate news was confirmed by the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office in Georgia to Entertainment Weekly. So far, “the manner and cause” of death “are pending investigation,” according to Senior Medical Examiner Investigator Brian Jost Reents .
TMZ was the first to report the death.
The Jacksonville-based rapper, whose real name is Janarious Mykel Wheeler, produced a large body of work, dropping his first song, “Fall Off” in 2016. By the end of the decade, he released five full albums and multiple singles. Among his releases, “Purple Hearts” caught the attention of Interscope Records, which signed the rapper to the label.
He ultimately joined Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group (CMG), an imprint at Interscope, and released a slew of hits over the last few years, including “Love & War,” “Mind Over Matter,” and “HAPPY TEARS.”
Poppa’s 16 song-album “Almost Normal Again” was released in August. He also released his new song, “Out of Town Bae” on Feb. 13, just five days before his death. The rapper was scheduled to perform in New Orleans next month.
In a 2021 interview with Audiomack, Lil Poppa didn’t agree with the notion that being a striving young artist is difficult. In fact, he seemingly enjoyed the rise.
“Being an artist is easy as long as you got something to talk about,” he said. “As long as you’ve been through something, it’s gon’ always be easy.”
