Tay Keith was found dead in his Nashville apartment at 29 after officers carried out a welfare check, a sudden end for a producer whose name sat behind records by Drake and Travis Scott. The Metro Nashville police department said no foul play is suspected, but the cause of death has not been released.
Keith, born Brytavious Chambers, built a credit list that stretched beyond rap into pop and crossover releases. He co-produced Travis Scott’s Sicko Mode, earned his first Grammy Award nomination in 2019 for that song, and picked up a second Grammy nomination in 2024 for Drake and 21 Savage’s Rich Flex.
BlocBoy JB and AJ Tracey
BlocBoy JB responded on Instagram with, “We talked everyday yeen tell me you was leaving.” AJ Tracey also posted on Instagram, calling Keith “a legend of the game” and adding, “I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say he had a big impact on my career.” Those tributes show how quickly the news moved through the network of artists who had relied on Keith’s beat-making and ear for singles.
Keith’s list of credits included Beyoncé’s Before I Let Go, Lil Nas X’s Holiday, Eminem’s Not Alike and DJ Khaled’s I Did It. He also helped push Sexyy Red into wider visibility by producing Pound Town and other tracks, work that kept him in the commercial lane even as his profile rose in awards circles.
Metro Nashville police department
The welfare check happened Thursday afternoon in Nashville, and officers found him dead in the apartment. The police department’s statement that “no foul play is suspected” narrows the story to a medical and procedural one: an autopsy is being conducted, while the immediate criminal question has already been set aside.
That leaves the hardest part of the report unresolved. Keith’s death lands after a year in which he and Cambrian Strong were featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Music list, and after a recent run of releases that included Megan Thee Stallion’s Megan, Jack Harlow’s Just Us featuring Doja Cat, and Travis Scott’s 4×4. The next meaningful answer is the cause of death, because that is what will determine whether the welfare check stays a private tragedy or becomes a fuller public account.
