Bay Area rapper Lil Yase has reportedly died, as confirmed by social media posts from the late rapper’s friends on Saturday. Yase, real name Mark Antonyyo Alexander, was 25 years old.
His record label, Highway 420 Productions, had yet to issue an official statement as of this writing. However, Bay Area’s Thizzler on the Roof account tweeted that the label asked them to release a new music video from the rapper on Saturday evening. An official cause of death has yet to be revealed.
Since the news of Yase’s passing, tributes have arrived from many people online, including friends, fans, and fellow artists.
Friends and fans pay tribute to Lil Yase
A day ago, an image post arrived on the official @YaseMoney600 Instagram page (below). It featured a photo of the rapper standing on the stairs. As part of the hashtag in his caption, he wished people a Happy Thanksgiving.
That post now has over 17,700 likes and is receiving comments from several other musical artists following the reports of Yase’s death on Saturday, November 28.
Some of the individuals commenting included Slimmy B, Derek King, Lil Slugg, and Shawn Eff, who posted condolences, RIP messages, and/or emojis in remembrance of the Bay Area rapper.
View this post on Instagram
In addition to the above Instagram post, a close associate of Yase’s named Jeremiah Messiah has shared several tributes, including the one below.
“Rest In Peace to one of the coolest funniest dudes I ever met ! 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,” he wrote in the caption on a post featuring part of Yase’s music video.
View this post on Instagram
Jeremiah Messiah also mentioned in another IG post that Yase was a superstar and that his ex deleted his YouTube account twice.
“He has millions of followers and because of the TRAP in the BAY AREA. My n***a never got to be AS BIG AS HE DESERVED ! We need to acknowledge and love our talent when they alive frfr!” he added in his post’s caption.
Many fans and accounts have also been paying tribute to the late rapper on Twitter, sharing parts of his music or videos and other thoughts.
.@lilyase600’s label @Highway420P asked us to drop a new video from him today at 6PM ?
Rest In Peace to the “Top Dog”: https://t.co/z7s8jKx4Ok
— Thizzler On The Roof (@TheThizzler) November 28, 2020
As seen in the tweet above from @TheThizzler, a new Yase music video was set to be released at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Saturday night called Top Dog. That video will be available here.
RIP Lil Yase. “Pull Up” with Drakeo was a genuine Bay to LA classic, one of the first to really set off the next wave of West Coast rap.
Another tragedy in a year filled with little else. pic.twitter.com/FedCS9sJHP
— Otto Von Biz Markie (@Passionweiss) November 28, 2020
Yase’s catalog included mixtapes, EPs
According to All Music, Yase was born in 1995 and grew up in the Sunnydale neighborhood outside San Francisco, California. He began making music when he was 18 years old using a borrowed iPad.
The Bay Area rapper’s contributions since his arrival in hip-hop have included Get it In, Furl, and Worst Way. His song Get It In ultimately got a remix featuring Nef the Pharoah and others.
Yase’s albums have included Winner’s Circle, Sorry for the Heat, and Kobe – named after the Los Angeles Lakers star who also passed away this year.
The Apple Music service shows the most recent release from Lil Yase is his October 23, 2020 song, Case Closed. The song also features Amg Manson.
Before that, Yase’s releases included EPs and mixtapes such as What a Time to Grind EP with G-Val, From the Block Too Alot, and 4500. He’s collaborated with artists including Yatta, Nemz, and Shoreline Mafia.
Yase was also part of the veteran rapper Too $hort’s Hella Disrespectful: Bay Area Mixtape, released in 2017. He appeared on the song On God, which also featured Mistah F.A.B. and Young Gully.
In addition, he performed on the song Handle from rapper Sage the Gemini, which appears on the 2017 album Morse Code.
The news of Yase’s death arrives in a year in which rap stars Nipsey Hussle, Juice WRLD, King Von, and Pop Smoke have also passed away.
Fans can check out more of Lil Yase’s music and videos on the Official Lil Yase YouTube page.