Months after the hip-hop world lost one of its brightest sonic architects, the Nashville Medical Examiner’s Office has closed the book on how Tay Keith really left us. According to the report, cited by TMZ, the hip-hop producer’s cause of death was overdose. The man behind some of the biggest records was only 29.Â
RELATED: Grammy-Nominated Producer Tay Keith Passes Away At Age 29Â
As previously reported, back in June police performing a welfare check found the prolific hitmaker, whose real name is BryTavious Chambers, unresponsive in his Martin Street apartment in Nashville, and from the jump, no foul play was suspected. Metro Nashville PD kept it straightforward in their statement, confirming “no foul play is suspected in the death of Brytavious Chambers, 29, also known as Grammy-nominated record producer Tay Keith.” For weeks the cause sat in limbo, labeled unclassified while the city and the culture held their breath.
Now the medical examiner has laid it out plain. Per the autopsy, the Nashville Medical Examiner’s Office found ketamine and mitragynine in his system. For those who don’t know the science, mitragynine is a compound found in kratom, a plant native to Southeast Asia, and it can interact with the brain’s opioid receptors, while ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic with legitimate medical applications that can also cause altered perception and other effects when misused.
TMZ also reported that Tay had nicotine and ethanol in his system, and the M.E. noted he had mild coronary artery disease as well, adding that he was found surrounded by drug paraphernalia. Even with all that laid out, the report doesn’t explain exactly how Keith consumed either substance, and outlets note it’s unclear if he was using kratom, a federally legal substance, at the time, or if he came into contact with it another way.
Looking Back On Tay’s Career:
Coming out of Memphis, the man turned a college side hustle into a Hot 100 empire. Keith’s career included four No. 1 records on the Billboard Hot 100, including Travis Scott’s 2018 single “Sicko Mode” and Drake’s 2023 hit “First Person Shooter.” He was still in school when the world caught on, he was a college student when he helped produce the Scott single. And even after the Grammy nod came knocking, he stayed the course.
Beyond Drake and Travis Scott, Keith worked with Eminem, Lil Nas X, and Jennifer Lopez, and he also played a key role in Sexyy Red’s rise to stardom, producing her 2023 breakout hit “Pound Town.” He co-produced Eminem’s “Not Alike,” and per HollywoodLife, “Pound Town 2” with Sexyy Red, featuring Nicki Minaj, became his first entry on the chart as a lead artist.
The family’s statement, released the day after his passing, painted the fullest picture of who BryTavious was behind the boards. They described him as “a visionary producer, songwriter, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and cultural force whose work helped define the sound of a generation,” adding that “from Memphis to the global stage, he shaped countless hit records and left a lasting mark on music and culture.” In their words, “While the world knew him as Tay Keith, his family knew him as BryTavious—a source of love, strength, laughter, and guidance.”
Keith’s final public moment on the internet said everything about who he was as an artist and a brother to his fellow producers. His last Instagram post celebrated other beatmakers whose records landed on Euphoria’s soundtrack, captioned “Congratulations everybody for they continued consistency and success. We take what we have and continue to be trailblazers and examples of hard work. Shout out to the Memphis Producers.”
Memphis and Nashville came together to celebrate his life properly. A memorial for Keith was held on June 30, 2026, at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts in Memphis, Tennessee, with attendees including Sexyy Red, Murda Beatz, Gunna, friends, family, and hundreds of fans. It was the kind of send-off befitting a man who spent his whole career elevating other artists’ sounds while quietly building his own legacy from behind the boards. While he’s no longer here, family, friends and fans, are making sure to keep his legacy alive.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, help is available through SAMHSA’s National Helpline.