Tay Keith’s cause of death has been revealed three months after the Grammy-nominated producer was found dead in his Nashville apartment.
The Nashville Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the 29-year-old, born Brytavious Lakeith Chambers, died from the toxic effects of drugs including ketamine and mitragynine, the active ingredient in kratom, according to reports. Keith also had nicotine and ethanol in his system and was found to have mild coronary artery disease.
The Memphis native was discovered on June 18 after Metro Nashville Police officers conducted a welfare check at his residence. The department announced his passing on X, revealing that officers found him during that check.
Whether Keith was personally using kratom, which is legal at the federal level in the United States, or came into contact with the substance another way remains unclear. Kratom, a tree native to Southeast Asia, acts as a sedative and interacts with the brain’s opioid receptors to reduce pain and cause calmness, according to Yale Medicine.
Keith’s death prompted an outpouring of grief from collaborators and friends across the hip-hop world. BlocBoy JB, his longtime producing partner whom he met as a teenager in Memphis, wrote on his Instagram Stories, “Damn Cuz You Just Hurt Me Bad.” A follow-up post showed their call history with the text, “We talked’everyday yeen tell me you was leaving.”
Producer Hitkidd also posted an Instagram tribute, writing, “I ain’t even got the words, we been doing this since 2010 @taykeith 🕊️.”
Keith’s breakthrough came when Drake took notice of his work with BlocBoy JB and brought them aboard for the 2018 hit “Look Alive.” That same year, Keith joined forces with Travis Scott on “Sicko Mode,” the blockbuster track that earned him his first Grammy nomination for best rap song in 2019. He secured a second nomination in the same category in 2024 for Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex.”
The late star’s career continued to ascend in his final years. At the 2024 BMI Awards, Keith won producer of the year. He made the Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Music list in 2025, with his bio noting that he became a Grammy-nominated producer at 23 and had added clients including Cardi B, Eminem and Beyoncé to his roster.
Keith’s final social media activity came on May 7, when he posted to promote Chris Brown’s song “Call Your Name,” featuring GloRilla and Sexyy Red. His family later released a statement following his death, saying, “His Legacy Will Live On.”
Keith’s journey began in Memphis, where he connected with BlocBoy JB during their teenage years and built the foundation for a production career that would shape the sound of mainstream hip-hop in the late 2010s and beyond. His work on “Sicko Mode” helped define the era’s sonic landscape, blending trap rhythms with psychedelic textures to create one of the decade’s most recognizable hits.
