"You were such a star to me because every
word you spoke was true," wrote singer Kehlani on Instagram, mourning
the loss of Lexii Alijai
Lexii Alijai
Presley Ann/FilmMagic
Stars are mourning the loss of Minnesota-born rapper Lexii Alijai.
Born Alexis Alijai Lynch, the young star was a rising talent in the hip-hop community.
She died on Wednesday at the age of 21, according to multiple outlets, including the New York Post‘s Page Six. A cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
Family members shared news of her passing on social media, where they mourned Alijai and her music.
“[You’re] a real Legend🎼 if you know her or heard her music you’d feel chills😔,” wrote one woman, who identified herself as a cousin of Alijai’s on Facebook. “Rest in paradise you’ll never be forgotten!👼🏽 I’m so lost for words…my beautiful cousin with so much talent & Unique soul … It’s too soon💔”
Another woman who identified herself as a family member wrote: “They say don’t question God, but damn why you baby. This thing called life is crazy as hell. My heart is broken 💔 the tears won’t stop. I’m trynna hold it together … Rest easy baby… 😘 You gained your beautiful wings.”
Alijai put out two albums during her up-and-coming career, both released while she was a teenager: Joseph’s Coat in 2015 and Growing Pains in 2017. She rose to fame with viral remixes of popular Drake and Nas songs, according to E! News.
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Kehlani — who got an assist from Alijai on the song “Jealous” — reacted to the tragic news on Twitter, sharing her heartbreak and confusion for her close friend and colleague.
“Weakest saddest way to start a new year,” Kehlani wrote in one tweet, later adding: “this s— was so much deeper than music that was my little sister.”
The Grammy-nominated singer, 24, went on to share multiple tributes to Alijai, both on Twitter and Instagram — even making a photo of the late rapper her header image on Twitter and adding “LONG LIVE LEXII” to her profile bio.
“I keep typing and backspacing … you knew what you meant to me … everyone knew what you meant,” she tweeted. “You were so special bro … i seen you fight thru it all i seen u thug it out lex … imma miss you so bad … you was about to get everything you always talked about … RIP MY BABY.”
