Remembering Lil Poppa With A Look Back At His Top 5 Songs On Genius

Florida-based recording artist Lil Poppa—born Janarious Mykel Wheele—was confirmed deceased yesterday in Atlanta at the age of 25. Throughout his unfortunately brief career, the Jacksonville-born talent released a steady stream of mixtapes and full-length records, kicking off with the 2018 project Under Investigation, which featured his breakthrough single, “Purple Hearts.” His most recent body of work, Almost Normal Again, was released last August.

Although Lil Poppa didn't quite reach mainstream household status, he left behind an impactful catalog of tracks documenting his personal evolution and the complexities of rising to fame—neither of which came easily. To commemorate his life and artistry, we are revisiting his five most popular tracks according to Genius traffic.

5. “Dangerous” (2018)

Lil Poppa experienced a great deal of hardship, and on this melancholic trap record—featuring production by Den Beats, AdamSlides, and Yung Lan—he reflects on the cycles of violence in his home city and the toll it took on his inner circle. A palpable sense of grief permeates the opening bars of the first verse.