Music fans across the United States are mourning the loss of Jacksonville rapper Lil Poppa, who has died at age 25.<\/p>\n
Lil Poppa, born Janarious Wheeler, died in Georgia, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office, which confirmed his death to\u00a0First Coast News. No details surrounding the circumstances of his death have been released. The medical examiner\u2019s office said the cause and manner of death are under investigation.<\/p>\n
The Jacksonville native built a loyal fan base with emotionally candid lyrics and a relentless dedication to his art that resonated with listeners far beyond Northeast Florida.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s just a great guy. Outside of the music and the artistry, man, he was a good human, and I’ll never forget him,\u201d said Scotty OTH, a friend and music producer who grew up with the rapper.<\/p>\n
Scotty OTH, also a Jacksonville native, said the two shared big dreams from a young age.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was making beats, then he was making music and 2019, 2018, we ended up making our first track together, but outside it’s deeper than music \u2014 that was family to me. We called each other cousins,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He described Lil Poppa\u2019s work ethic as unmatched.<\/p>\n
\u201cA very hard worker. I ain’t never seen nobody outwork Poppa. Poppa is the last man standing in the studio,\u201d Scotty said. He added that \u201cForever Young\u201d was one of their favorite songs they created together.<\/p>\n
In 2022, Lil Poppa signed with Yo Gotti\u2019s Collective Music Group, marking a defining moment in his career. He released several fan favorites, including \u201cLove & War,\u201d \u201cMind Over Matter\u201d and \u201cHAPPY TEARS,\u201d along with projects such as \u201cAlmost Normal Again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just days before his death, he released a new single titled \u201cOut of Town Bae.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since news of his passing broke, Lil Poppa has been trending on X. He had nearly one million followers on Instagram and more than 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel empty. But I love him. I love him to death. I always will, and I’m just trying to compartmentalize everything,\u201d Scotty said.<\/p>\n
Photographer and creator Terrence Tyson said he met Lil Poppa at the very beginning of his career and watched him rise.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how myself and a lot of other people, how hard we went for him to get where he needed to be. It was a shock and it was a big loss,\u201d Tyson said.<\/p>\n
Tyson said the rapper pushed through trials and tribulations to create opportunities for himself and others.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen he made it, it felt like everyone made it,\u201d Tyson said. \u201cHe was a star.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lil Poppa was scheduled to perform at his birthday bash on March 21 at The Fillmore in New Orleans.<\/p>\n
As Jacksonville and fans across the country mourn his death, those closest to him say his heart and music will keep his memory alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s gonna live on, and his legacy is gonna continue,\u201d Scotty said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Music fans across the United States are mourning the loss of Jacksonville rapper Lil Poppa, who has died…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160874,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[28387,116,118,117,76838,77031,77032],"class_list":{"0":"post-160873","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-first-coast-news","9":"tag-jacksonville","10":"tag-jacksonville-headlines","11":"tag-jacksonville-news","12":"tag-lil-poppa","13":"tag-manner-of-death","14":"tag-terrence-tyson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160873\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}