Rapper With Smash Hit Is Dead at 20

One week after his big hit was certified as a gold record, Dallas rapper Lil Loaded has died at age 20, reports Billboard. Attorney Askhan Mehyrayi told the outlet that the singer (real name Dashawn Robertson) is believed to have committed suicide. Lil Loaded was best known for his 2019 summer hit "6locc 6a6y," which the Recording Industry Association of America certified as gold—meaning 500,000 units sold—on May 25. "(D)opest fanbase on earth," Lil Loaded wrote on Instagram after the milestone, per USA Today. "He was struggling with some things we wish we would've known about, wish we could've intervened," says Stanley Gabart, whose production company worked with the rapper's label, Epic Records, per the Dallas Morning News.

The singer had faced a manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of his best friend, Khalil Walker, last year. His attorney previously said the shooting was accidental and that "no malice" existed between the two. Though free on bond, the rapper had been scheduled to attend a court hearing in the case on Tuesday. The Dallas newspaper reported that on the day of the shooting, Lil Loaded had posted online, "So much love fa u they thought we had the same mama ... ima see u soon." (The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.)