Los Angeles-based rapper Earl Swavey has passed away, according to a Pitchfork report. The news of his death was confirmed by his representative as well as social media tributes from Vince Staples and podcaster Adam22.

“Rest In Peace to the great Earl Swavey,” Staples wrote. In Adam’s post, he recalled working with the 26-year-old. “Damn. RIP Earl Swavey,” he tweeted. “We just had him host a skateboard vlog with the Illegal Civ guys 6 months ago smh.” No further details have been provided.

According to Pitchfork, Swavey, a native of South Los Angeles, is a cousin of Top Dawg Entertainment‘s Jay Rock. After years of rapping, he eventually scored the attention of A$AP Yams, who took him on as his protégé. In a 2015 interview with Grungecake, the 26-year-old star recalled their first encounter.

“I originally met him after I was locked up for a bit. A$AP heard my music and they wanted to network with me,” he said. “…They invited me out to one of their shows and from there on, it opened up a lot of opportunities for me. My relationship with him (Yams) was pretty good. I really appreciate the fact that he help put me on. He’s a hard-working man and always looking out for others. For him to manage two of the biggest stars in rap right now with Ferg and Rocky is amazing. On top of that, he’s managing the whole A$AP Mob, models and looking out for upcoming talent out West, like me. It’s like a brotherhood and I want to model my squad after A$AP.”

“Yams was really like a brother to me,” he added. “He would send me Christmas gifts and always look out for my mom, and ask if she needed anything. I could call him anytime and he would always answer, no matter what. I definitely gained some wisdom from him and Stunnaman.”

In the years since Yams’ passing, Swavey dropped projects like The Dirtiest, Unphuckwithable, and Gangland 4, snagging collaborations from Mozzy, Melly and more.

REVOLT sends our prayers to the family and friends of Earl Swavey during this difficult time.See the aforementioned tributes below.