Los Angeles rapper Luci4 has died at 23 years old. Luci4’s manager Kayla G posted a message to TikTok late Sunday (Feb. 22) confirming the pioneering rapper’s death.
“I am devastated to inform you that today, James, Luci4, Axxturel has passed away. He was truly a leader a king and a musician and a genius,” she wrote of the artist born James Dear. “There’s nobody like him and there will never be. We all loved him dearly. Rest Easy. Please allow family and friends privacy and patience during this difficult time.”
A cause of death was not revealed.
Fans paid tribute to the rapper in Kayla’s TikTok comments. “Rip da goat 4jay, Axxturel, Skkkult3x, Prynce Axxturel, Axx, 4jay X Luci4, Luci4, Lucifer, Noktifer, Gebhuza gon be missed fr bro would be the only thing id listen too during 2020-2023,” one fan wrote.
Another added: “RIP axxturel you will be missed you have been my top 3 since 6 grade you will always be remembered!”
Billboard has reached out to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office for comment.
Luci4 got his start as a producer in Spaceghostpurrp’s BMB Deathrow collective. He became a trailblazer as part of SoundCloud’s sigilkore genre as well as the underground’s krushclub subgenre.
The influential rapper, who also went by the alias Axxturel, broke through with his “Bodypartz” single in 2021, which earned him a deal with Atlantic Records. “Bodypartz” became certified gold by the RIAA in 2024 and the apocalyptic visual to the blaring track has compiled more than 4 million views on YouTube.
Luci4 released his album Vampmania 3 last year and has delivered a handful of singles in 2026 on DSPs, including “Otw” earlier in February, as well as “Sleeve,” “B4 the Storm” and “#NEVERSURRENDER.”
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