Lil Yase Dead: San Francisco Rapper Dies at 25, Friends Say

Rapper Lil Yase, whose real name was Mark Antonyyo Alexander, has died according to multiple of his friends’ messages and posts on Instagram. He was 25.

Heavy has reached out to his record label for comment and while a cause of death has not been confirmed, those who left “RIP” messages on Yase’s official Instagram page include Derek King, Slimmy B., Einer Bankz, and director Jeremiah Messiah, the latter of whom shared his own Instagram video with the caption, “I’ll never forget the times brother @yasemoney600 May the Most High resurrect your soul !”

Messiah wrote in another post, “Rest In Peace to one of the coolest funniest dudes I ever met,” Jeremiah wrote. “He was different but he was himself and he always looked out and gave me more money than I asked for recording or anything. And he offered to buy me a new laptop when I got hit. My n**** forever a real one !”

Originally from Sunnydale, California, a neighborhood located in San Francisco, Yase kicked off his rap career at age 18, when he started making his own videos to his songs, according to AllMusic.com. He started to earn national attention after he released the hit single, “Get It In,” which he followed up with a series of popular tracks such as “Bum B****,” “Furl,” and “Worst Way.”

VideoVideo related to lil yase dead: san francisco rapper dies at 25, friends say2020-11-28T13:49:14-05:00

Yase released his first mixtape in 2016 entitled From the Block to Alot and in 2017, he worked with rapper G-Val to release a collaborative mixtape, What a Time 2 Grind. In December 2019, he released his first album, Sorry for the Heat, and his latest record, Kobe, was released in July 2020.

Yase Helped Propel Rapper Yatta as 1 of the ‘5 Under-the-Radar Rappers from the Bay Area You Should Know About’

Lil Yase x Yatta – Get It In“Get It In” ft. Lil Yase & Yatta ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/down-to-the-wire-3/id988546312 LIKE US ON FACEBOOK FOR UPDATES: https://www.facebook.com/TheOriginal.Philthy.Phil FOLLOW US ON SOUNDCLOUD: https://soundcloud.com/philthyyphil FOLLOW ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PhilthyyPhil2015-04-29T07:39:31Z
In 2018, Fader released an article about the five biggest up and coming rappers from San Francisco, a list which included Yatta, who appears on Yase’s hit breakout 2015 single, “Get It In.” The 2016 re-mix of the song featuring G-Val, Lil Blood, Nef the Pharaoh, and Mozzy, garnered over 3.3 million views on YouTube.

The duo also collaborated on the song “Foolin” featuring DJ Spunks, and “Bum B****.” For those wondering why Yase continued to grow in popularity while Yatta’s career seemed to stall, Fader’s Tyrese Johnson explained:

Due to a string of stints in jail, Yatta could never fully capitalize on the record’s momentum. Even today, the rapper, whose high-pitched and aggressive delivery has been mimicked and repurposed on songs by other local acts, sits in a prison cell serving a hefty sentence. That hasn’t stopped the celebrated emcee from engaging with fans through freestyles on Instagram, singles, and guest features recorded from behind the walls… Until he’s back on the streets and in the studio, fans have steadfastly called for his release with the hashtag and phrase, “#FreeYatta til it’s backwards.

Yase Released His ‘Big One’ Music Video A Week Before His Death

Lil Yase, NHL Reesey4 – Big One (Official Video)Music video by Lil Yase, NHL Reesey4 performing Big One (Official Video). 2020 Highway 420 Productions http://vevo.ly/dmQAzr2020-11-17T21:54:08Z

Featuring NHL Reesey4, Yase released the official music video for the song, “Big One,” on November 17, which was produced by his company 420 Highway Productions. While the song didn’t blow up right away, fan comments on the official video’s YouTube page questioned why. One woman wrote, “This song should be doing numbers. i always have this on repeat everyday.”

Just one day before his death, Yase wished everyone a “Happy Thanksgiving” on Instagram, where he had garnered 110,000 followers.

Dressed in a sweatshirt and sporting an Oakland A’s baseball cap he wrote, “If my n**** trippin den I’m trippin it’s up wit UNK #HappyThanksGivin.”

Tributes Filled Social Media Following Yase’s Sudden Death

Fans, friends and collaborators struggled to process Yase’s sudden death and took to social media to share heartfelt tributes to the young rapper on Instagram and Twitter. AKA Frank shared a photo of Yase on his Instagram page and wrote, “Dam bra .. we used to record twice a week for 4 months straight … Yo energy unmatched bro always good vibes. this ain’t even right man .. I’m hurt … rest easy.”

Fuck dawg… RIP LIL YASE 😖😖😖

— Skipper 💔 Big Skip Energy🅿️ (@HBKSkipper) November 28, 2020

we slappin lil yase all day today🙏🏾 RIP

— mrs. barbie👱🏾‍♀️ (@NYDOLLAZZZZ) November 28, 2020

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