Tay Keith’s cause of death has been ruled an accidental overdose, three months after the Memphis producer was found dead in his Nashville apartment at age 29.
Rolling Stone reported that a source at Nashville’s medical examiner’s office confirmed the manner of death as accidental. Entertainment Weekly reported that toxicology findings involved ketamine, mitragynine, nicotine and ethanol, with mild coronary artery disease also noted.
Police said at the time of Tay Keith’s death that there was no indication of foul play.
The ruling closes one question around his June death
Tay Keith, born Brytavious Chambers, was found during a welfare check on June 18.
The new medical-examiner finding answers the question of how he died. It does not change the size of the catalog he left behind.
Keith became one of the defining producers of late-2010s and 2020s rap, first breaking nationally through his work with fellow Memphis artist BlocBoy JB and Drake on “Look Alive.”
His production credits later stretched across records for Travis Scott, Drake, Beyoncé, Eminem, Sexyy Red, Key Glock and others.
Memphis stayed at the center of his sound
Keith’s production was closely tied to the city that raised him. The drums, bass and pace of his records carried Memphis rap into some of the biggest songs of the streaming era.
His work on Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” helped earn him a Grammy nomination, while later collaborations with Sexyy Red helped connect him to another generation of breakout records.
Keith also graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 2018 while his music career was accelerating.
What is confirmed now
The medical examiner has ruled Tay Keith’s death an accidental overdose. The substances reported in the toxicology findings should not be used to speculate beyond that official determination.
He was 29.
