Tay Keith, Producer of Sicko Mode, Found Dead at 29

Hip-hop lost one of its loudest voices on Thursday, and not the rapping kind. Tay Keith, the producer whose pounding 808s powered Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode," was found dead inside his Nashville apartment. He was 29. If you've turned on a radio in the last eight years, you've heard his work, even if you never once saw his face. He was the guy in the background making the speakers shake.

His sound was impossible to miss. Heavy drums, dark melodies, bass that hit you in the chest. That was his fingerprint, and a generation of rap learned to live inside it. Here's what happened, who he was, and why Memphis is hurting so badly right now.

What police have said so far

Officers found Brytavious Chambers, the man the world knew as Tay Keith, during a welfare check at his Martin Street apartment on Thursday afternoon. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said no foul play is suspected and that his death is "unclassified" pending autopsy results. Police have not said what prompted someone to call for that welfare check in the first place.

The cause of death has not been released. The full police statement was short and plain: "No foul play is suspected in the death of Brytavious Chambers, 29, also known as Grammy nominated record producer Tay Keith. He was found dead in his Martin St apt this afternoon by officers performing a welfare check. His death is unclassified pending autopsy results." That's all anyone has at the moment.

From a piano in South Memphis to YouTube

Tay Keith was born September 20, 1996, in South Memphis. He started making beats around age 14, banging them out on a piano at home and posting them to YouTube and DatPiff. One of the first things he taught himself to do was rebuild popular songs from scratch, including Lil Wayne's "Lollipop." That was the homework that turned into a career.

After his family moved to East Memphis, he met a rapper named BlocBoy JB. The two clicked right away and started making music together, a partnership that ended up shaping both of their lives. You can hear Memphis all over his beats, the dark and menacing trap of Three 6 Mafia mixed with the soul of 8Ball & MJG. He took that local sound and dragged it onto the biggest stages in the world.

How 2018 put him on the map

The year 2018 was a rocket ride. Tay Keith and BlocBoy JB caught Drake's ear with their local rap, and that led to "Look Alive," Tay Keith's first hit. He was 21 years old. The same song shouts out Memphis with a line about "901 Shelby Drive," 901 being the city's area code. He never forgot where he came from, and he wrote it right into the music.

Then came the run that made him a household name in studios everywhere. He co-produced Travis Scott's "Sicko Mode," which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song. He also worked on Drake's "Nonstop" and Eminem's "Not Alike" that year. And here's a wild detail: he graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in December 2018, the exact same month he scored his first No. 1 and his first Grammy nod. Diploma in one hand, hit record in the other.

The numbers tell the story

Tay Keith was not a one-hit guy. His work piled up 11 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and four No. 1s. He also holds the record for the most No. 1s on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart this decade, with six. Those are not small chart positions. That's the kind of run most producers only dream about.

His credit list reads like a who's who of the last decade. He produced Drake's 2023 hit "First Person Shooter," co-produced "Rich Flex" with Drake and 21 Savage (which earned him a second Grammy nomination), and worked on Beyoncé's "Before I Let Go" for her Homecoming live album. He helped launch Sexyy Red with "Pound Town" and "SkeeYee," and his beats showed up for Cardi B, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, DJ Khaled, and plenty more. BlocBoy JB, Key Glock, Moneybagg Yo, and Yo Gotti all got Memphis hits from him too. His old friend kept it real after the news broke, posting screenshots of their daily phone calls.

He was building something bigger than beats

By the end, Tay Keith wanted ownership, not just credits. He founded DRUMATIZED, a label and creative space in Nashville that became the second Black-owned recording studio in the city. He co-founded it with Cambrian Strong and locked in a licensing deal with Warner Records, plus a worldwide publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music. He launched the label in 2022 with Lil Durk and Gunna's "Lights Off" as the first release.

He also did something a lot of trap producers never try. He moved into country music. DRUMATIZED hosted private music camps for artists like Walker Hayes, Reyna Roberts, and David J, and he worked with Kane Brown, ERNEST, and Bailey Zimmerman. He landed on a Forbes Under 30 list for his business work and had just been celebrated for a McDonald's collaboration that put his name on merch and vinyl. The guy who started on a home piano was turning his name into a brand and a business.

He never stopped mentoring

One thing kept coming up in his own words: he cared about the next kid trying to make it. In a past interview he said, "I had to overcome a lot of adversity growing up and I made it a mission to be able to show the youth that it's possible. I always motivate the kids, the young producers who reach out to me and want advice. I never hesitate to talk to them." That wasn't a throwaway line. The camps and the open studio doors backed it up.

You can hear that same gratitude in the tribute producer BanBwoi posted after the news: "Closest death ever even been to me. I love you and thank you for everything. Thank you for being my first big brother." That's the kind of thing people say about someone who actually showed up for them.

The tributes from Memphis and beyond

The reaction was instant and raw. BlocBoy JB, his earliest collaborator, posted throwback photos and wrote, "Damn Cuz You Just Hurt Me Bad," then added, "We talked everyday yeen tell me you was leaving." Fellow Memphis musician Hitkidd said he had no words: "I ain't even got the words, we been doing this since 2010." Producer ATL Jacob put up a simple rest in peace post.

Juicy J, one of the Three 6 Mafia legends whose sound shaped Tay Keith's whole style, wrote, "Can't believe I'm saying this RIP TAY KEITH Memphis Tenn Legend. Prayers up for the family friends & fans we lost a great one." Producer BNYX added, "Long Live Tay Keith, you inspired many including me." Memphis had long claimed him as one of their own, and the city felt this loss deeply.

Tay Keith spent more than a decade as one of the most prolific and commercially successful producers of his time, and he was still in the middle of it. His recent credits included Jack Harlow's 2025 track "Just Us" with Doja Cat and Travis Scott's single "4x4." For a guy who taught himself piano off a Lil Wayne song, that's a heck of a run. His autopsy results are still pending, and for now, the people who knew him are left replaying old voicemails and call logs, trying to make sense of why a 29-year-old at the top of his field is suddenly gone.