Lil Keed, an up-and-coming Atlanta rapper and a protege of Young Thug, died Friday in Los Angeles. He was 24. A 300 Entertainment representative confirmed Keed’s cause of death to The New York Times but did not reveal a cause of death. He was scheduled to perform at a Charlotte music festival this weekend.
Keed’s brother, Lil Gotit, also confirmed Keed’s death on Instagram Saturday after rumors began to circulate on social media, reports XXL. “Can’t believe I seened u die today bro I did all my cries I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers Naychur and Whiteboy,” Gotit wrote. He included the hashtag “Ima hold this s— down.” Gotit also posted a message in his Instagram story, writing, “Whyyy bra whyyy u leave me bra.”
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In addition to his brother, Keed is also survived by his girlfriend, Quana Bandz, and his daughter, Naychur. Bandz shared a gallery of several videos on her Instagram page, alongside a long tribute to him. “I love you sooooo much baby,” she wrote. “What I’m post to do with out you. I can’t breathe right sleep right nothing I don’t even wanna talk to nobody Keed I can’t take this why you leave US bru. What am I supposed to tell Naychur? What am I gone tell our new baby ? Keed I just told you the other day if you left me with these two kids I was gone loose my mind. My Mind is lost baby.”
Keed was born Raqhid Jevon Render on March 16, 1998. He grew up in Atlanta’s Cleveland Avenue neighborhood and rapped about his difficult upbringing in his mixtape series Trapped on Cleveland. He released the third part in 2020, two years after the second. In an August 2020 interview with Complex, Keed said the gap gave him time to grow and develop as a rapper.
“Back then, I was talking about stuff like typical rappers: shooting, killing, just saying s— because that’s what everybody wanted to hear,” Keed told Complex when asked about his growth over the years. “I was just talking about the stuff that happened in the streets and stuff around me. Now that I done grew from all that and I done moved myself out of that situation, I’m letting folks know why I was so trapped on Cleveland, as far as me going to the hood every day and all the shootouts. I just had to move myself out of the situation to better myself and my family.”
Keed joined 300 and Young Thug’s Young Stoner Life Records (YSL) in 2018. Keed was not among the performers charged by a Fulton County grand jury indictment that alleged YSL was a criminal street gang involved in murders, drug dealing, and other crimes. “YSL is a family, YSL is a label, YSL is a way of life, YSL is a lifestyle, YSL is not a gang,” Keed wrote on social media in response to the allegations.
Keed released seven projects in just two years. His collaborators included Future, Lil Uzi Vert, Roddy Ricch, Gunna, and Lil Yachty. He also became friends with motivational guru Gary Vaynerchuk after Keed mentioned him in a song. Their friendship almost led to Keed appearing in a 2019 Super Bowl Planters commercial. In 2020, Keed appeared on the cover of XXL with Jack Harlow and Fivio Foreign for the magazine’s Freshman Class issue.
