Rapper Lil Poppa has died at 25.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based musician died Wednesday in Georgia, the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to The Independent.
A cause of death was not immediately available.
Born Janarious Mykel Wheeler, the rapper was signed to Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group. Several of his tracks gained popularity, including “Love & War,” “Mind Over Matter” and “HAPPY TEARS.” Lil Poppa’s most recent album, Almost Normal Again, was released in August and featured 16 tracks.
His newest single, “Out of Town Bae,” was released just days before his death. The rapper was slated to perform in New Orleans next month, TMZ reported.
Just 12 hours before his death was confirmed, Lil Poppa posted a video to his Instagram Story. The video featured the lyrics to Rod Wave’s song “Letting It Go.”
“You know what happened / I know what happened / world never will,” the lyrics played and simultaneously read on screen.
“So in the mean time / I'm tryin' to find a piece of mind / Hearts all gotta break sometimes,” the song continued.
Fans of the rapper have now begun posting tributes in the comments section of his final Instagram grid post from five days before his death. The post was a music video for his latest single, shared with the caption: “Out Of Town Bae Official Video out now.”
“Poppa tell me they lying,” one fan posted while another said, “this can’t be true,” accompanied by multiple broken heart emojis.
I listen to lil poppa literally everyday wtf my heart dropped
— Chey🌹 (@Dollfacedd__) February 18, 2026
Lil Poppa was super talented. Unfortunate to hear, RIP.
— Jordan Wheeler (@jordankwheeler) February 18, 2026
“Lil poppa I swear I’m hurt like frrrrrr,” someone else chimed in. Another wrote, “poppa please say something this can’t be happening.”
The tributes continued on X, where heartbroken fans were devastated to learn the news.
“I listen to lil poppa literally everyday wtf my heart dropped,” one fan wrote while another said, “Lil Poppa was super talented. Unfortunate to hear, RIP.”
“Im so sad lil poppa really died before i could go to one of his concerts,” someone else wrote, as another said, “Damn.. bro was the definition of pain music, long live lil poppa.”
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