The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Lil Keed, up-and-coming Atlanta rapper, dies at 24
Record label confirms, but cause of death was not been specified.
Lil Keed, a budding, melodic rapper from Atlanta with a delicate voice that he often stretched into a helium-high, Auto-Tuned falsetto, died Friday in Los Angeles. He was 24.
The musician’s death was confirmed Saturday by a representative for his record label, 300 Entertainment, who did not specify a cause. Keed had been scheduled to perform at a music festival Saturday night in Charlotte, N.C.
Born Raqhid Jevon Render on March 16, 1998, Keed hailed from the neighborhood known as Cleveland Avenue, for its main thoroughfare, where southwest Atlanta meets the suburb of East Point in Fulton County. He chronicled his turbulent upbringing there, surrounded by poverty, drugs and violence, in the three-part mixtape series “Trapped on Cleveland.” Its final installment was released in 2020.
“I dig deep into my story and let everybody see what I went through, how I came up, and give them an insight on my life,” he said in an interview with Complex at the time.
In 2018, Keed signed to300 and Young Stoner Life Records under the tutelage of his mentor and melodic rapper Young Thug. Last week, Young Thug and 27 others, including numerous rappers from the label, were charged in a major racketeering indictment handed down by a grand jury in Fulton County. The indictment alleged that YSL was a criminal street gang responsible for killings, robberies, drug dealing and more.
Keed, who was not charged, responded in a graphic posted to social media that read: “YSL is a family, YSL is a label, YSL is a way of life, YSL is a lifestyle, YSL is not a gang.”
In 2020, Keed was named to XXL’s annual Freshman Classissue, a prominent launchpad for rappers, appearing on the magazine’s cover alongside acts like Jack Harlow and Fivio Foreign. The year before, his breakout single, “Nameless,” a raunchy number with a singsong stickiness that became a regional radio hit and streaming success, had been certified gold. Having released seven fulllength projects in two years, Keed worked widely with artists from his city and beyond, including Lil Yachty, Gunna, Future, Lil Uzi Vert and Roddy Ricch.
Keed’s brother and frequent collaborator, rapper Lil Gotit, reacted to his death Friday night on Instagram. “I did all my cries,” he wrote. “I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers.” Keed is also survived byhis daughter,Naychur, and his girlfriend, known as Quana Bandz. “What am I supposed to tell Naychur? What am I gone tell our new baby?” she posted.