Grammy-nominated hip-hop producer Tay Keith was found dead at age 29 in his Nashville apartment.
The Metro Nashville PD confirmed via X on Thursday, June 18, that the officers found Keith unresponsive during a welfare check at his apartment.
“No foul play is suspected in the death of Brytavious Chambers, 29, also known as Grammy nominated record producer Tay Keith,” the police department clarified. “He was found dead in his Martin St apt this afternoon by officers performing a welfare check. His death is unclassified pending autopsy results.”
Us Weekly has reached out to the Metro Nashville PD for additional information.
The Most Shocking Celebrity Deaths of All Time
The Memphis native broke into the music industry after graduating from Middle Tennessee State University. His acclaimed early work with rapper Blac Youngsta eventually led to collaborations with A-list artists, including Eminem, Drake and Lil Baby.
Keith steadily became an influential figure in the world of hip-hop, having collaborated with Sexyy Red on her breakthrough single “Pound Town” in 2023. In 2019, he produced a track for Beyoncé’s Homecoming: The Live Album, which was recorded during her iconic set at Coachella in April 2018.
Keith also received a Best Rap Song nomination for coproducing Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in February 2021. (“Sicko Mode” ultimately lost the award to Drake’s “God’s Plan.”)
Keith’s childhood friend and frequent collaborator BlocBoy JB shared his grief over losing the artist on Thursday, initially posting a “broken heart” emoji via his Instagram Story. He also shared a video scroll of his recent FaceTime calls with Keith, adding, “We talked everyday. Yeen tell me you was leaving.”
Later on Thursday, BlocBoy JB posted a childhood photo with Keith, admitting in the caption, “Damn cuz you just hurt me bad.”
Keith has opened up in the past about struggling with success, especially with the loss of anonymity that came from working with major artists.
“It’s been a struggle sometimes, you know? It’s really the lack of privacy [that gets to me]. I can’t really just go out,” he told The Huffington Post in 2019. “Some places I can, some places I can’t. It’s really hit-or-miss. If I want to go to a restaurant or some shit like that, sometimes I can. But sometimes people recognize me and want to take pictures or catch me off-guard in a photo. That can make you uncomfortable.”
He went on, “I could be on a date or something or trying to get some alone time, and someone will try to take a picture of me or record me. The pros outweigh the cons, of course, but the main con would be privacy.”
Keith told Rolling Stone in 2022 that he wanted to share his passion with the next generation through musical and technological education.
“At [Middle Tennessee State University] I’m an honorary professor, so we are in the talks of having interns [at our studio] and growing — you know, spread and spread and the branches of the tree, bro, and putting on my producers,” he said. “Also, me tapping into tech and rubbing shoulders with all of the big Black tech investors and VC companies, startups, and me investing into a couple companies also. Using leverage that we have in the music industry to take advantage of the opportunities in the tech world.”
The producer continued, “We came from Section 8, sleeping on our family couches, so just us being able to come in these rooms and have a voice and having financial literacy is big. Understanding that we want to be the biggest — not just hip-hop, because we’ve mastered it and accomplished it — but also the biggest thing in other industries, specifically tech.”
