Rapper Lil Poppa, a rising star from Jacksonville, Florida, who began rapping at the age of 7, has died in Atlanta.
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TMZ reported that the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office in Georgia confirmed the rapper’s death on Feb. 18. The 25-year-old’s cause of death has not been revealed.
Before his death was confirmed, rumors had been circulating on social media, with fan both grieving his loss and speculating on his cause of death.
“The city is mourning following reports that Jacksonville rapper Lil Poppa has passed away,” one post on Threads read. “May God bless his entire family, and my girls are truly having a hard time with this news. My heart is broken,” one fan wrote in the replies to the post.
Born Janarious Mykel Wheeler in Jacksonville, Florida, in 2000, Lil Poppa started rapping at age 7. He initially wrote music for his church before transitioning to secular music.
According to Pitchfork, he was just 18 when he gained attention in 2018 with “Purple Hearts,” a song about surviving a shooting in his hometown. The track later appeared on his acclaimed Under Investigation mixtape.
Lil Poppa Enjoyed Mainstream Success as a Teen
“Purple Hearts” went viral, leading Wheeler to sign with Interscope Records. In 2021, he released his debut LP with the label, Blessed, I Guess, which explored his conflicting feelings about sudden fame. Wheeler later signed with Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group, home to artists like Moneybagg Yo and GloRilla.
Lil Poppa’s last album, the 16-track Almost Normal Again, came out in August 2025.
Meanwhile, Lil Poppa had big plans for 2026. The rapper’s most recent song, “Out of Town Bae,” dropped just last Friday. According to TMZ, he was scheduled to perform in New Orleans next month.