Lucas Coly was a young French-American rapper and social influencer who amassed global popularity through his bilingual rap videos on Vine. He passed away on September 27, 2023, at age 27. This tragic news came to light on October 3, 2024, through a heart-touching statement given by the long-time manager of the artiste; it reflected great pain saying, “There is a hole in my heart right now, Lucas“. The statement mentioned the strong bond which Coly had aplenty with his fans, many have still not gotten over their shocking loss.
Coly first burst onto the scene on social media over ten years ago with the hit singles “I Just Wanna” and “Break Ya Back.” At the time, he became famous for his talent of rapping in English and French on Vine. When Vine folded, the rapper immediately transitioned to Instagram and YouTube, where he first garnered over a million followers and then half a million subscribers, respectively. His music videos, especially his gold single “I Just Wanna,” smashed millions of views and became hot favorites on the playlist, promising him to be one of the deserving and leading talents in the rap zone.
But despite the apparent success, an Instagram post from Coly’s manager-encouraging people to “check on your friends”-has led everyone to speculate that there might have been more emotional factors behind his untimely death.
No cause of death has been officially made public, but Coly’s last Instagram Story, which was published in the time leading up to his death, simply read: “I love y’al” ????-with an orange heart emoji attached to it. For such a short message, it sent chills down fans’ spines as messages flooded on social media accompanied by those of disbelief, hoping it was all some kind of misunderstanding.
Fans worldwide are devastated by the loss of Coly, who used a highly spread platform to connect with people through the most important thing to him: his art. As one fan wrote on Instagram,
“My heart is aching….I loved you since elementary school!”
Another fan wrote, “Rest in paradise, young king,”
reflective of the love and admiration so many have for the late rapper. Born in 1998 in France, Coly moved with his family to the U.S. when he was eight years old. He grew up in Texas and Detroit, falling in love with music. Growing up of mixed heritage and being able to rap in multiple languages found Coly distinguishing himself from others in the music industry, blending American rap culture with his French roots.
In 2017, Coly took to a relationship with the social media personality Amber H, and together they created a joint YouTube channel that means much to the fans, who get an insight into Coly’s life. Coly’s death has brought back with new vigor vital talks on mental health, especially among young artists who have to cope with the pressure of maintaining a good image while fighting their battles in private. His manager spoke of how Coly would camouflage the struggles with a smile for the fans while he was in pain.
