Florida-based recording artist Lil Poppa—born Janarious Mykel Wheele—was confirmed deceased yesterday in Atlanta at the age of 25. Throughout his unfortunately brief career, the Jacksonville-born talent released a steady stream of mixtapes and full-length records, kicking off with the 2018 project Under Investigation, which featured his breakthrough single, “Purple Hearts.” His most recent body of work, Almost Normal Again, was released last August.

Although Lil Poppa didn't quite reach mainstream household status, he left behind an impactful catalog of tracks documenting his personal evolution and the complexities of rising to fame—neither of which came easily. To commemorate his life and artistry, we are revisiting his five most popular tracks according to Genius traffic.

5. “Dangerous” (2018)

Lil Poppa experienced a great deal of hardship, and on this melancholic trap record—featuring production by Den Beats, AdamSlides, and Yung Lan—he reflects on the cycles of violence in his home city and the toll it took on his inner circle. A palpable sense of grief permeates the opening bars of the first verse.

These niggas ain’t the same as us
Them niggas green, they ain’t share the same pain as us
For cool points, I know niggas’ll bust a brain for us
Don’t slide to run to Instagram, ‘cause that shit lame to us

4. “Purple Hearts” (2018)

As a teenager, Lil Poppa barely survived a violent encounter in Jacksonville that resulted in three fatalities. On his 2018 track “Purple Hearts,” he articulates his struggle with trauma and the heavy burden of survivor’s guilt, while attempting to distance himself from a life he feels trapped in. In the hook, while grappling with the distress he causes his mother, he simultaneously offers a stern warning to those who might target him.

Lion hearted, I’m a soldier, gotta change the way I’m livin'
Mama stressin' and I know just how she feelin'
But I was raised to be a soldier, ain’t lettin' up
Niggas better second guess before they fuck with us

3. “Love & War” (2021)

By the arrival of 2021’s Blessed, I Guess, Lil Poppa had secured a deal with Interscope, which might have appeared to be a turning point for his circumstances. However, on “Love & War,” he addresses his inability to escape his role as a combatant in local conflicts that prevent a peaceful existence. He spends the initial verse trying to explain to his partner why he cannot always be present; the danger surrounding him threatens her safety just by association.

Come ride with me, I wanna tell you how I’m feeling
Shawty, I fuck with you but it’s going down in the city
All these rookies know is shoot
And they been killing up the innocent
And before that day come, girl, I don’t wanna have you with me

2. “Been Thru” (2019) ft. Quando Rondo

During the chorus of this moody, piano-driven song, Poppa clarifies that his lyrics aren't just rap—they are direct reflections on his lived realities. By 2019, he had achieved a level of notoriety that shifted the way people around him behaved, and, as he notes in the opening verse, it also fundamentally changed his own perspective toward his environment.

And I know when the fame come, everybody gon' be actin' like they know you
All for some money, you ain’t keep shit a hundred like you was ‘posed to
Thought I could trust you, that’s why I showed you half the shit I showed you
I’m the nigga you’re close to, too real to expose you

1. “Eternal Living” ft. Polo G (2019)

Lil Poppa’s music was rarely celebratory in tone; even when documenting his unlikely ascent from impoverished origins, he remained deeply skeptical of both jealous peers and hostile rivals. Throughout the chorus, he describes coping mechanisms (“I pour drank on my kidney”), and by the third verse, he reaches a grim conclusion: street violence only fuels a relentless cycle of loss. Eventually, the ongoing gunfire claims everyone involved.

I just pray to God that he forgive me
I did so much wrong, they want to kill me
I got niggas in them trenches, they gon' drill for me
But if they all die for me, who gon' live with me?