Lil Poppa has died at age 25. The Jacksonville rapper, born Janarious Mykel Wheeler, was pronounced deceased at 11:23 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office. The news was first reported by TMZ and confirmed by Complex. The rapper’s cause of death has not been released.
According to his Ticketmaster page, Poppa was scheduled to perform at the Fillmore in New Orleans on March 21. The rapper released his last single, “Out of Town Bae” on February 13.
In 2022, Lil Poppa was signed to Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group (CMG) off the strength of his mixtape series Under Investigation. The last installment, Under Investigation 3, was released in 2022.
Lil Poppa released several albums in the last few years, including Almost Normal Again in 2025. The LP featured singles “Bout My Respect” and “Myself Again” and included collaborations with Yungeen Ace, Mozzy and more. Following the album’s release, Poppa embarked on the twenty-date Almost Normal Again Tour and previously joined his “Falling Fast” collaborator Rod Wave on the Last Lap Tour.
This story is being updated.