Key Glock, the Memphis rapper, has paid tribute to his longtime friend Tay Keith, after the Grammy-nominated producer was found dead in his Nashville, Tennessee apartment on June 18, 2026. He was twenty-nine years old.
As per a report shared by BBC, Nashville police discovered his body after performing a welfare check, adding that no foul play was suspected. An autopsy is being conducted, though a cause of death hasn’t been released.
Key Glock, who is twenty-eight years old, took to X to share his grief publicly.
“💔💔 Lift our boy up in your prayers please along with Tay’s family,” shared Key Glock.
The two go back to their school days. In a 2019 interview with Respect, Key Glock, born Markeyvius LaShun Cathey, recalled meeting Tay Keith long before either of them had any recognition in the music world.
“Tay Keith and I met in high school in the cafeteria. Before the recognition, I knew he made beats and that’s how we met. When we learned about music, the vibes were crazy. When we are in the studio, its art and it paints a picture,” shared Key Glock.
Tay Keith had gone on to work with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Drake, Travis Scott, Eminem and Beyoncé.
Key Glock and Tay Keith’s collaborations explored:
Key Glock and Tay Keith built a deep catalogue together over the years. As per a report shared by Hot New HipHop, the pair had countless collaborations, with tracks like “Ambition For Cash,” “Presidential Rolex,” and “Russian Cream” among them.
There was clearly more to come. As per a report shared by HipHopDX, a fan on X had shouted out Tay Keith back in 2024 for his remarkable success, and was curious about whether he and Key Glock had anything dropping that year. Keith responded directly.
“We got so much unreleased in the vault might drop the project,” shared Tay Keith.
Tay Keith’s remarkable production legacy explored:
Beyond his work with Key Glock, Tay Keith had assembled one of the most impressive rĂ©sumĂ©s in hip-hop production. As per a report shared by BBC, the producer, whose real name was Brytavious Chambers, had worked with stars including Lil Baby, Sexyy Red, 21 Savage and J. Cole. He was best known for co-producing Travis Scott’s massive hit Sicko Mode, a situation which earned him his first Grammy Award nomination back in 2019.
That wasn’t his only brush with Grammy recognition. Tay Keith picked up a second nomination in the best rap song category in 2024, this time for his work on Drake and 21 Savage’s “Rich Flex.”
His credits stretched across some of the biggest tracks of the last decade. Keith had production work on BeyoncĂ©’s Before I Let Go, Lil Nas X’s Holiday, Eminem’s Not Alike and DJ Khaled’s I Did It.
The Memphis-born producer also played a significant role in launching Sexyy Red into mainstream success. He produced her breakout single Pound Town, along with a string of other tracks including Get It Sexyy, which was later featured on the HBO series Euphoria.
Key Glock took a younger artist under his wing as he expands beyond music into mentorship:
Last month, Key Glock made headlines for something else entirely. As per a report shared by Hot 97, the rapper was gearing up to launch his own record label. Young Dolph’s shadow loomed large over that decision.
Glock opened up about his first signee, Memphis rapper Zo Trapalot, in an interview with Esquire.
“He reminded me of me. He listens. We’ve got a budding relationship outside of music, so I’m just taking him under my wing, just like Dolph did with me. He’s like the little brother I never had,” shared Key Glock.
Dolph had signed Glock to Paper Route Empire back in 2017. That relationship pushed him toward becoming one of Memphis rap’s most commercially successful artists. As his career grew beyond mixtapes and touring, Glock had increasingly spoken about wanting to create that same kind of opening for younger artists coming up behind him.
Dolph was fatally shot outside a cookie shop in South Memphis in November 2021. A lengthy legal case followed, eventually resulting in multiple convictions tied to the shooting. For Glock, the label wasn’t a business move so much as a continuation of something Dolph started with him years ago.
Edited by Ryan D’souza