Officials have ruled on rapper Lexii Alijai’s cause of death.
A report released by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office has declared rapper Lexii Alijai’s cause of death a result of fentanyl and ethanol overdose, and the incident is being considered accidental. Alijai was found dead in her hotel on New Year’s Day at the age of 21. The young Minnesota rapper was the granddaughter of the legendary Roger Troutman of the Zapp band, whose funk music has been heavily sampled in a great deal of West Coast hip-hop. Following in her grandfather and father’s footsteps, Lexii was pursuing a music career and showing great promise at the time of her death.
Lexii Alijai gained the attention of hip-hop fans when she started remixing popular songs by major artists such as Drake, Tupac, Jay-Z, and Nas. She released her first mixtape, “Super Sweet 16s,” in 2014 on her sixteenth birthday, and went on to release two more the same year. Alijai became friends with the singer Kehlani and collaborated with her on her debut mixtape, piquing the interest of music critics with her lyrical skills on the project.
Kehlani publicly mourned the loss of her friend after news broke, tweeting, “you knew what you meant to me. everyone knew what you meant. you were so special bro. I seen you fight thru it all I seen u thug it out lex, imma miss you so bad.” Alijai’s death also prompted tributes from several other big names in the music industry including Ella Mai, Ari Lennox, Wale, Russ, and Bas.
A benefit concert has been organized in honor of Lexii and will feature performances by Kehlani and a special guest. The singer posted about the concert, which will take place on February 19th, saying, “this benefit concert is dedicated to making some of her biggest dreams come true. Supporting her family, and supporting her city.”
LEXII ALIJAI DAY IN MINNEAPOLIS MN. TICKETS UP TOMORROW 9 AM. ALL PROCEEDS TO HER FAMILY & FOUNDATION. pic.twitter.com/liKzI8SqDR
— Kehlani (@Kehlani) January 23, 2020
