Hip-hop producer Tay Keith has died. In a statement shared on Thursday, June 18, Nashville police confirmed that the artist, real name BryTavious Chambers, was found dead in his apartment by officers performing a welfare check. Although a cause of death was not confirmed, police do not suspect any foul play as of this writing. Chambers was 29.
In a statement shared on July 19, Chambers’ family confirmed his death, writing: “BryTavious was a visionary producer, songwriter, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and cultural force whose work helped define the sound of a generation. From Memphis to the global stage, he shaped countless hit records and left a lasting mark on music and culture.”
“Above all, BryTavious was a beloved son, brother, uncle, family member, and friend,” the statement concluded. “While the world knew him as Tay Keith, his family knew him as BryTavious—a source of love, strength, laughter, and guidance.
We take comfort in knowing that his legacy will live on through the music he created, the opportunities he provided, and the lives he touched.”
Chambers’ sound linked the distorted, horrorcore synths and drum lines of Memphis rap with the melodious trap that exploded in Atlanta in the early 2000s. His producer tag became synonymous with some of the biggest hits of the past decade, including BlocBoy JB and Drake’s “Look Alive,” Sexyy Red’s “Pound Town,” and Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode,” the latter of which earned Chambers a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Song. Chambers also contributed to Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning 2019 live album Homecoming, producing the bonus track “Before I Let Go.”
Born and raised in South Memphis, Chambers grew up listening to local rap royalty like Three 6 Mafia, Playa Fly, and 8Ball & MJG with his family. “I always knew music was gonna be my outlet,” he told the Fader in 2018, the same year he graduated from Middle Tennessee State University. “I just didn’t know when, or how it was gonna happen.” That answer arrived in his early teens, when Chambers first began recording music—equipped with just a mic, his computer, and a piano—and releasing it on DatPiff and YouTube. It was also around this time that he met the rapper BlocBoy JB, who would go on to become one of his closest collaborators.
Chambers worked consistently with some of the most recognizable names in mainstream rap, but he never shied from investing in rising, left-of-center talent. “Pound Town,” his 2023 track with Sexyy Red, became her breakout single and foregrounded one of the strongest mixtapes of the year, Hood’s Hottest Princess. But as Chambers explained to Billboard in 2024, most people treated the uproarious track as a joke when it first came out. “People were trolling the shit out of me,” he said. “It wasn’t much good feedback. It was coming from even people around me, ‘What you doing?’ I saw the potential. That’s as simple as it was, me believing in her.” In 2018, Chambers also founded his own company, Drumatized, a label and creative camp focused on fostering emerging hip-hop talent.
Since news broke of Chambers’ passing, multiple other musicians have shared public tributes to his life and legacy. “Damn Cuz You Just Hurt Me Bad” BlocBoy JB said in an Instagram story, alongside a photo of the pair. “We talked everyday.” Fellow Memphis producer Hitkidd also expressed disbelief on Instagram, writing: “I ain’t even got the words, we been doing this since 2010.”
Drake honored the producer on Instagram, offering up “endless and eternal gratitude for your spirit and your contributions to this thing that we all love so much.” Sexyy Red also wrote in his memory: “I LOVE YOU BRUDDAAA…STILL DA BEST DUO US 5LIFE.”