This week, a popular rapper based out of Jacksonville, Florida, Lil Poppa passed away at the age of twenty-five. A cause of death has not been immediately released.
After beginning his career in 2018, releasing several singles, Lil Poppa, AKA Janarious Mykel Wheeler saw his first real success in 2019 after signing with Interscope Records.
Wheeler’s first studio album was released in May 2021, titled “Blessed, I Guess,” which ended up reaching 160 on Billboard’s top 200 albums.
In the last several years, Poppa released popular songs, such as “Love & War,” “Mind Over Matter,” and “HAPPY TEARS.” In August, Poppa released a 16-song, titled “Almost Normal Again.”
The news of Poppa’s passing has come as a major shock to the community of Jacksonville, who was proud to call Poppa one of their own.
— Jacksonville Jaguars (@Jaguars) December 10, 2025
Lil Poppa was signed with Yo Gotti’s Collective Music Group. As recently as last Friday, Poppa was still actively releasing his work. With his career on the upswing, the artist was scheduled to perform at an upcoming show in New Orleans.
While speculation has begun to spiral online, no official cause of death has been released by officials, or Lil Poppa’s family.
Tributes and prayers have started flooding in for the artist’s family, and loved ones, expressing their sadness at the tragic news.
“I’m so sad Lil poppa really died before I could go to one of his concerts,” someone else wrote, as another said, “Damn.. bro was the definition of pain music, long live Lil poppa.”
