MISGUIDED MAGAZINE SPRING 2020

LEXII ALIJAI
Rappers Gone
Too Soon
By Natyana Rochelle
While everyone was celebrating the new
year and claiming the year as theirs,
entertainers and fans all over mourned
the death of 21-year-old rapper, Lexii
Alijai. Although, her cause of death is still
unknown it doesn’t take away the fact
that she died way too young, along with
other rappers and entertainers. Alexis
Alijai Lynch, or Lexii, was an inspiration
to many. The Minnesota rapper touched
many lives with not only her music but her
spirit. She released many mixtapes before
getting her big break in 2016 as a feature
on Kehlani’s song “Jealous.” From that, she
gained the attention of many artists and
released another project that featured
Elle Varner. She got the opportunity to
perform at Soundset Music Festival
opening up for artists like: Playboi Carti,
Lil Uzi Vert, and Rich the Kid. The following
year, Lexii released a remix of “Redbone”
by Childish Gambino and “Me, Myself and
I” by Beyoncé. Gaining more recognition
and fans, she released her first full-length
debut album, “Growing Pains.” Still touring
and making music, her fans anticipated
her next major project that will no longer
come.
Other young rappers and entertainers that
died in 2019, were either from illnesses,
drugs or gun violence. Arizona rapper,
Traphouse was only 35 years old when
he died from Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. In
March of 2019, we lost rap legend, Nipsey
Hussle to gun violence. He was fatally shot
in front of one of his stores. Twenty-one
year old, Willie Bo, a rapper from California
was fatally shot by police officers outside
of a Taco Bell. Twenty-five year old,
Kevin Fret, an openly gay Puerto Rican
rapper was fatally shot, while driving his
motorcycle. Thirty-one year old, Nina Ross
Da Boss, a female rapper from Florida was
the victim of a double homicide. Twentyone
year old rapper, Juice Wrld overdosed
on drugs he had taken before going into an
airport which caused him to have a seizure
and die.
There has to come a point when we
question not only rappers’ lyrics but also
check on their mental health status as
well. Most of the lyrics from rap artists are
about using drugs and gun violence. Fans
hear this and want to be like their favorite
rapper so, they begin to experiment with
drugs until a rapper abuses it and loses
their life. Just like a lot of people in the
world that uses drugs to cope, rappers and
20 | MISGUIDED MAGAZINE