British rapper and producer Jevon dies

Lis Sinatra

Jevon, the British rapper and producer known for working alongside Pa Salieu, Kojey Radical and Avelino, has died.

The news was reported by Complex, with multiple sources confirming that he has passed away. No cause of death has yet been confirmed.

Jevon Daniel Ellis was raised in West London, but relocated to Coventry in his teens, where, as he explained to NME in 2018, he began to make music.

He was perhaps best known for producing several of the songs on XL Recordings’ ‘New Gen’ compilation in 2017, which showcased a number of London’s most exciting rap, R&B and spoken word talent at the time, including Kojey Radical, Avelino and Tiggs da Author.

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Jevon also worked closely with Pa Salieu, the British-Gambian rapper, producing multiple tracks on his debut mixtape ‘Send Them to Coventry’, which was released in November 2020.

As he explained to NME, Jevon drew heavily from his Brazilian heritage in his work. “My Grandad was Brazilian and he passed away about three years ago now. In his will he left me his record collection, and it was all Brazilian artists. I had what I thought was the EP, but when I heard the Brazilian sounds, I just started making some Brazilian stuff. I was like, ‘This needs to be the album’. It was a blessing.”

“It was a completely different environment and it tested me as a musician as well. It tested me musically because their whole process is all different. The whole kind of recording process was a bit of a challenge for me. The musicians back there play instruments differently and they have a different sort of rhythm, the way that they play which was something that I gravitated towards. It sounded so gravitating that I just wanted to hear more.”

Jevon’s debut album ‘Fell In Love With Brazil’ came out in 2021, incorporating elements of bossa nova and samba into his sound.

Tributes have been shared for Jevon by friends and fans on social media – check out some of them here: