Billboard reports:
Young rapper Speaker Knockerz was found dead Thursday at a South Carolina home, the Richland County Coroner’s office has confirmed with Billboard.
Born Derek McAllister, the 19-year-old emcee was discovered in his garage on Two Notch Road in Columbia. Coroner Gary Watts said foul play is not suspected and an autopsy found no sign of trauma. Results are pending for a toxicology test.
The Richland County Sheriffs Department is investigating.
McAllister may have been missing for at least two days before being found. A Facebook user who identified herself as the rapper’s mom said he was last seen Tuesday night while in a black Camaro. “It’s not like him not to communicate or come home for this long period of time,” Mesha Wilson reportedly wrote. “I pray that my son is ok.”
Though unsigned, the rapper’s videos on YouTube average somewhere between 200,000 to 3 million-plus views. Soon after his death was made public, #RIPSpeakerKnockerz became a Twitter trend in the United States. Friend and collaborator Zack Dillan, who directed many of the artist’s videos, was among the mourners.
