Tributes paid after Houston underground rap legend BeatKing dies, age 39

Lis Sinatra

BeatKing, one of the most influential underground figures in Houston rap music, has died at the age of 39.

The news was confirmed by BeatKing’s manager Tasha Felder on Instagram on Thursday night (August 15), who invoked his moniker Club Godzilla, writing: ”Today, August 15, 2024 we have lost @Clubgodzilla.”

“BeatKing has been the best part of the club for over a decade,” she added. “He has produced and worked with so many artists, that his sound will forever live. He loved his daughters @clubgodparenting, his music and his fans. We will love him forever.”

BeatKing – real name Justin Riley – was father to two daughters, as reported by ABC News Houston. TMZ report that he passed away following a pulmonary embolism.

He was perhaps best known for his 2020 breakout song ‘Then Leave’, which featured Queendome Come and became a viral TikTok hit that year. The track, taken from his album ‘Gangsta Stripper Music 4’, rose to Number 3 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

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He began his live music experience by playing the drums alongside family members in church while growing up in Houston but later established with Club Godzilla persona with the 2010 mixtape ‘Kings Of The Club’.

His music revolved around cranked up 808s and hooky chant-like choruses and drew heavily from Southern rap traditions.

Last year, BeatKing appeared on the posthumous album by Three 6 Mafia member Gangsta Boo, alongside the likes of Run The Jewels, Skepta and Latto, having previously been a prolific collaborator with the rapper, dating back to the influential mixtape ‘Underground Cassette Tape Music’ in 2014.

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He also was the original feature on Megan Thee Stallion’s ‘THICK’ in 2020, which was later remixed with DJ Chose.

Over the course of his career, BeatKing also worked alongside the likes of 2 Chainz, Ludacris and Juicy J, and earlier this year he joined Nicki Minaj on stage in Houston.

See some tributes to BeatKing below:

His passing comes just weeks after the release of his latest album, ‘Never Leave Houston On A Sunday’.