AUSTIN, Texas — Houston rapper BeatKing, whose booming voice and eccentric songs brought him fame in nightclubs and on social media, has died, his manager said Friday. He was 39.
The rapper, whose name was Justin Riley, died Thursday after collapsing during a recording session, Tasha Felder told The Associated Press. Felder, his manager, said Riley was taken to a hospital and had a pulmonary embolism.
“His daughters were with him the whole time,” Felder said. “It’s really sad, we loved him so much.”
BeatKing, whose club music anthems earned him the moniker Club Godzilla, achieved his biggest hit of 2020 when his song “Then Leave” went viral on social media and peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. He also scored hits with the songs “Crush” and “Thick”. His latest album, “Never Leave Houston on a Sunday,” was released last month.
Known for humorous, edgy lyrics, he broke through the Houston music scene in 2010 with “Kings of the Club”, reaching Houston’s younger generation who were not as familiar with the city’s famous slow music style from The screwed up click and Swisha House.
As a rapper or producer, BeatKing collaborated with major artists such as 2 Chainz, Bun B, T-Pain and Ludacris. Although BeatKing did not achieve the national prominence of other Houstonians such as Travis Scott and Megan Thee Stallionhe found fame throughout the South among fans who admired his sound and authenticity to Houston.
“My condolences @clubgozilla,” 2 Chainz wrote on social media. “God bless your soul and family.”
“Just an amazing spirited person,” Bun B said in a tribute to the rapper on Instagram.
Fans on social media recalled BeatKing’s dominance of the club scene in the 2010s. He represented himself by wearing black t-shirts with phrases such as “I stop following back” and “Stop moving to Houston.”
He leaves behind two daughters and his partner.
___
Hamilton reported from New York.
___
Lathan is a staff member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on classified issues.