Tay Keith, the Grammy-nominated producer behind some of the biggest tracks in modern hip-hop, has died at the age of 29.
The Memphis-born producer, real name Brytavious Lakeith Chambers, was found dead at his Nashville, Tennessee apartment on Thursday following a welfare check.
Metro Nashville Police confirmed his death, stating that no foul play is suspected and that the cause of death remains unclassified pending autopsy results.
Keith’s fingerprints are all over a remarkable stretch of hip-hop history.
He first broke into the mainstream in 2018 with BlocBoy JB’s viral hit Rover, having a working relationship with the rapper since the age of 14.
That same year proved to be his breakthrough on a larger scale, as he co-produced Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode featuring Drake, a track from Scott’s critically acclaimed Astroworld album that earned Keith a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song at the 61st annual awards ceremony in 2019.
He received a second Grammy nomination in the same category in 2024 for his work on Drake and 21 Savage’s Rich Flex.
The list of artists he worked with is impressive.
Alongside Scott and Drake, Keith produced Drake’s 2018 single Nonstop, Eminem’s Machine Gun Kelly diss track Not Alike, Never Recover by Lil Baby and Gunna featuring Drake, and a bonus track from Beyoncé’s live Homecoming album.
He also worked with Sexyy Red, whose track SkeeYee contributed to him being named BMI R&B/Hip-Hop Producer of the Year, an honour he claimed three times, most recently in 2024.
He began his career as a teenager, posting original songs and remixes to YouTube and hip-hop platforms before meeting BlocBoy JB at 14 and beginning a creative partnership that would eventually open doors throughout the industry.
BMI also named him R&B/Hip-Hop Songwriter of the Year in 2018.
He was 29 years old.
