The Georgia musician released his most recent song, “Out of Town Bae,” on Feb. 13.

Rapper Lil Poppa dies at 25

The Georgia musician released his most recent song, "Out of Town Bae," on Feb. 13.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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February 18, 2026 10:07 p.m. ET

Lil Poppa performing in Atlanta in 2024. Credit:

Prince Williams/WireImage

Lil Poppa, the prolific Georgia rapper who scored hits with songs like "Love & War" and "Purple Hearts," died on Wednesday at the age of 25.

The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the news to * *on Wednesday. Senior Medical Examiner Investigator Brian Jost Reents noted to EW that "the manner and cause" of the rapper's death "are pending investigation."

TMZ was the first to report the death of the Jacksonville-based musician, whose real name was Janarious Mykel Wheeler.

Lil Poppa on stage at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit in 2024.

Aaron J. Thornton/Getty

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In a single decade, Lil Poppa produced a body of music sizable enough to rival his peers with 10, 20, even 30 more years to their names.

He dropped his first song, "Fall Off," in the summer of 2016. By the end of the decade, he released five full albums and numerous singles, one of which, "Purple Hearts," caught the attention of Interscope Records, which signed him. The song deals with the musician's struggle to process a drive-by shooting that nearly took his life and set the stage for a career defined by vulnerable and unflinching lyrics.**

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Lil Poppa ultimately signed to "No Fake Love" rapper Yo Gotti's Collective Music Group imprint, which also features the Grammy-nominated breakout star GloRilla.

The industrious young musician scored his biggest hit in 2021 with "Love & War." A highlight from the same year's *Blessed, I Guess*, Lil Poppa raps on "Love & War" about a crush with whom he wants to share "how I'm feeling," but battles with the urge to protect her from "all these rookies" who are "killing up the innocent."

The same struggle defined his most recent single, "Out of Town Bae," which he released just five days before his death.

In a 2021 interview with Audiomack, Lil Poppa shrugged off the assumption that rising through the ranks as a striving young artist was difficult, or at least that the difficulty wasn't enjoyable.

"Being an artist is easy as long as you got something to talk about," he said. "As long as you've been through something, it's gon' always be easy."**

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