HOUSTON, Texas – Fans, loved ones, and the Houston community will be able to honor the life and legacy left behind by Houston rapper BeatKing on Thursday.
The rapper, whose name was Justin Riley, died on Aug. 15 after fainting during a recording session, his manager Tasha Felder said. Felder said Riley was taken to a hospital and that he had a pulmonary embolism.
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A celebration of life ceremony is set to be held on Thursday at the Bayou City Event Center located at 9401 Knight Road from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Fans who want to attend the ceremony, had to reserve a ticket on the beatkingkong.com, which shows the registration as closed.
Following the service, there will be a balloon release at 2 p.m.
Also, a Houston restaurant, CaliKitchenHTX will unveil a BeatKing mural at 8 p.m.
BeatKing, whose club music anthems earned him the name Club Godzilla, achieved his biggest hit in 2020 when his song “Then Leave” went viral on social media and peaked at No. 3 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. He also scored hits with the songs “Crush” and “Thick.” His final album, “Never Leave Houston on a Sunday,” was released last month.
He was known for humorous, raunchy lyrics and broke through the Houston music scene in 2010 with “Kings of the Club,” reaching Houston’s younger generation not as familiar with the city’s famous slowed music style from The Screwed Up Click and Swisha House.
As a rapper or producer, BeatKing collaborated with major artists including 2 Chainz, Bun B, T-Pain and Ludacris. Although BeatKing didn’t achieve the national prominence of fellow Houstonians such as Travis Scott and Megan Thee Stallion, he found fame throughout the South among fans who admired his sound and authenticity to Houston.
Fans on social media recalled BeatKing’s dominance over the club scene in the 2010s. He formed an image for himself by wearing black T-shirts with phrases such as “I unfollow back” and “Stop moving to Houston.”
He is survived by two daughters and his partner.