American rapper (1998?2020)
Musical artist
Alexis Alijai Lynch
(February 19, 1998 ? January 1, 2020), better known by her stage name
Lexii Alijai
, was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. Born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Alijai was part of the
Twin Cities hip hop
scene. She released
Growing Pains
?her only full-length, studio album?in 2017. Alijai was a rising star in the local music scene when she died in Minneapolis in 2020.
[1]
Early life and education
[
edit
]
Lexii Alijai was born and raised in
Saint Paul, Minnesota
.
[2]
She was the granddaughter of musician
Roger Troutman
, founder of
funk
band
Zapp
.
[3]
Her father, Roger Lynch, the son of Roger Troutman, was also a musician.
[4]
She attended
Como Park Senior High School
[2]
in Saint Paul, following an interest in basketball,
[5]
but then focused on music instead and transferred to Creative Arts Secondary School,
[2]
before then enrolling in an online school.
[6]
Alijai ultimately dropped out to pursue a full-time music career and began rapping over the beats of popular songs by artists such as
Dej Loaf
,
2Pac
and
Drake
.
[4]
Career
[
edit
]
Alijai released her first mixtape,
Super Sweet 16s
, in 2014 on her sixteenth birthday.
[4]
She then collaborated with Rocky Diamonds on an extended play, titled
3 Days
. A second mixtape,
In the Meantime
, was released a few months later, then her third,
Feel?Less
, in October that same year.
[7]
In 2015, she and rapper Shaun Sloan collaborated on a mixtape titled
Same Struggle. Different Story
.
[8]
[9]
Alijai became close friends with
Kehlani
the summer before the release of Kehlani's debut commercial mixtape,
You Should Be Here
(2015), which peaked at No. 36 on the
Billboard
200
.
[10]
Her appearance on the track "Jealous" granted Alijai media attention due to her lyricism and flow presented on the track.
[11]
Her next full-length project,
Joseph's Coat
, was released late 2015 and featured contributions from
Elle Varner
.
[12]
In 2016, she performed at
Soundset Music Festival
[13]
[14]
and had opened up for
Playboi Carti
,
Lil Uzi Vert
, and
Rich the Kid
.
[15]
She released a remix of "Exchange" by
Bryson Tiller
and "Cold Hearted" by
Meek Mill
along with a music video for her remix of "Cold Hearted".
[16]
In 2017, she released a remix of "Redbone" by
Childish Gambino
and "
Me, Myself and I
" by
Beyonce
.
[17]
On September 8, 2017, Alijai released her first full-length debut studio album,
Growing Pains
, in which she covered topics such as dropping out of school and maintaining a relationship with her ex-boyfriend's mother.
[17]
Death
[
edit
]
Alijai shortly before her death.
Alijai died at the
Loews Minneapolis Hotel
on January 1, 2020, at the age of 21. The
Hennepin County Medical Examiner
ruled that the manner of death was an accidental
drug overdose
.
[18]
[19]
A toxicology report revealed the cause as mixed toxicity from
fentanyl
and
ethanol
.
[19]
Discography
[
edit
]
Studio albums
Mixtapes
- Super Sweet 16s
(2014)
[20]
- In the Meantime
(2014)
[20]
- Feel?Less
(2014)
[20]
- Joseph's Coat
(2015)
[18]
Guest appearances
EP'S
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Autopsy: St. Paul rapper Lexii Alijai died of accidental overdose"
.
Minnesota Public Radio
. January 28, 2020
. Retrieved
January 28,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Melo, Frederick (January 2, 2020).
"Lexii Alijai, a rapper from St. Paul, reportedly dies at age 21"
.
St. Paul Pioneer Press
. Retrieved
January 6,
2020
.
- ^
Carl, Lamarre (January 3, 2020).
"Rapper Lexii Alijai Dead at 21"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
January 6,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
c
Sacks, Brianna (January 2, 2020).
"The Hip-Hop Community Is Stunned After A Young Rapper Died Suddenly On New Year's Day"
.
BuzzFeed News
. Retrieved
January 6,
2020
.
- ^
"EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Get to know Minnesota's very own Female Rapper "Lexii Alijai"
"
.
Everything With Yin
. 2014-10-24
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Interview With Lexii Alijai"
.
Powerhouse Youth Division
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"EP: LEXII ALIJAI ? FEEL-LESS"
.
You Heard That New
. Archived from
the original
on November 9, 2017
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"(New Mixtape) @LexiiAlijai and @RealShaunSloan "S.S.D.S."
"
.
Zacy Morris
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Mixtape: Same Struggle. Different Story By Shaun Sloan And Lexii Alijai"
.
Beknown Posts
.
Archived
from the original on August 13, 2016
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Kehlani chart history"
.
Billboard
.
Archived
from the original on February 28, 2017
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
Nostro, Lauren (April 9, 2015).
"Premiere: Kehlani Teams Up With Lexii Alijai for "Jealous" (Prod. by Jahaan Sweet)"
.
Complex
.
Archived
from the original on April 13, 2015
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"LEXII ALIJAI DROPS JOSEPH'S COAT EP"
.
Hype Fresh Mag
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"5 fresh spins on Soundset as hip-hop fest heads to Minnesota Fairgrounds"
.
Star Tribune
.
Archived
from the original on September 27, 2016
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Soundset 2016's get-to-know guide: Anderson .Paak, Post Malone, Lexii Alijai, more"
.
Star Tribune
.
Archived
from the original on October 2, 2016
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
"C4- M R$CH- Lexii Alijai- Allan Kingdom- LIL UZI VERT in Minneapolis"
.
Eventful
. Retrieved
May 31,
2017
.
- ^
Melo, Frederick (2020-01-02).
"St. Paul rapper Lexii Alijai, 21, reportedly dies"
.
INFORUM
. Retrieved
2020-01-28
.
- ^
a
b
"Growing Pains"
.
Bandcamp
.
Archived
from the original on December 12, 2017
. Retrieved
December 10,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
c
Stedman, Alex (January 1, 2020).
"Kehlani 'Heartbroken' Over Death of Young Rapper Lexii Alijai"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
January 1,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
"Death of 21-year-old Minnesota rapper attributed to fentanyl, alcohol"
.
USA TODAY
. 2020-01-28
. Retrieved
2020-01-28
.
- ^
a
b
c
Aviles, Gwen (January 3, 2020).
"Rising rapper Lexii Alijai, who died at 21, remembered by artists"
.
NBC News
. Retrieved
January 8,
2020
.
External links
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