Lil Keed, Rapper And Young Thug Protégé, Dead At 24

Lil Keed, a rapper who was part of Young Thug‘s Young Stoner Life collective and label, has died at the age of 24. No cause of death has been disclosed for Keed, who leaves behind a three-year-old daughter, Naychur.

Keed’s death was confirmed by his brother, fellow rapper Lil Gotit. “Can’t believe I seened u die today bro I did all my cries,” Gotit wrote in an Instagram post on the weekend. “I know what u want me to do and that’s go hard for Mama Daddy Our Brothers Naychur and Whiteboy.”

Keed was born Rahqid Jevon Render in Atlanta, Georgia in 1998, the fifth of seven children. He began rapping seriously in 2016, releasing two mixtapes – Trapped on Cleveland and Slime Avenue – in 2018. He soon caught the attention of Young Thug, who released Keed’s mixtapes Trapped on Cleveland 2 and Keed Talk to ‘Em later in 2018 via YSL and 300 Entertainment.

Keed went on to release two studio albums – 2019’s Long Live Mexico and 2020’s Trapped on Cleveland 3 – and featured on collaborations with Thugger, Future, Lil Yachty, Gunna, Big Sean, Trippie Redd, Lil Gotit and more.

Keed spoke about his bond with Thug on multiple occasions. “He’s just a great person at heart. He’s real pure-hearted,” the rapper told Complex in a 2020 interview. He teaches you stuff. He gives you game. He tells you some shit folks won’t tell you. I know a lot of folks, they say they’re big dogs and all that shit, but they don’t really help their people. He helps his people. That’s why I love him so much.”

Lil Keed’s death comes shortly after Young Thug and Gunna were included in a RICO indictment that led to both rappers’ arrest along with 26 others in which YSL was labelled a “criminal street gang” by authorities. Keed, who was not included in the indictment, defended the label in an Instagram story last week, writing: “YSL is a family. YSL is a label. YSL is a way of life. YSL is a lifestyle. YSL is not a gang. YSL is not a criminal organisation. YSL is not a street gang. YSL is not a mob.”

The official YSL account eulogised Keed on social media, writing that a “member of our family is gone” and calling the rapper “one of the most genuine and heartfelt human beings.” Keed’s girlfriend, Quana Bandz, wrote a lengthy, emotional post on Instagram.

Many others throughout the rap world have paid tribute to Keed since news of his death broke, including Future, Rae Sremmurd, Westside Gunn, Doe Boy and Lil Gnar. See some of those tributes below: