The music world was stunned this week by the death of Chynna Rogers.
The up-and-coming rapper and model was just 25 years old.
Specifics about Rogers’ passing were initially hard to come by, but there were indications that the Philadelphia resident had passed away from an overdose.
“Just lost another friend to drugs. I’m not going to be quiet about it. I’m tired of drug culture,” Rogers’ longtime friend, writer Quinta Brunson tweeted on the day of her death.
“Everything about it. Everything attached to it. I know there’s a bigger picture. But i don’t care right now. I’m so tired. And sad.”
Now, insiders have confirmed that Rogers indeed lost her life to an overdose.
Family and friends say they were shocked by the news, as Chynna got sober following a stint in rehab in 2017.
The artist spoke openly about her struggle with addiction in an interview with Pitchfork magazine.
“I see a lot of artists decide they want to go through s–t with their fans, and that’s cool because it gives your fans something to hold onto,” she told the magazine while discussing her decision to speak open up only after she sought treatment.
“But I need to handle it myself first, and then, when I’ve figured out how I want to word it, we can talk about it—y’all not about to go through it with me,” she explained.
Rogers assured her fans that substance abuse is a more common affliction than many people realize.
“There are a lot more people dealing with this s–t than you think, and they should know that someone who looks like me or does this could have the same problem as the fiend on the corner,” she said
Rogers was affiliated with the A$AP Mob hip hop crew.
Fellow member A$AP Yams died of an overdose in 2015, and his sad story apparently served as a cautionary tale to Rogers.
“And it was partially because of the s–t that happened with Yams, or just how many friends I have lost to different stuff,” she said of her decision to check into rehab.
“And I just—I didn’t want to lie.”
While Rogers remained sober through a number of trying times, including the recent death of her mother, she apparently relapsed sometime in recent weeks.
Our thoughts go out to Rogers’ loved ones at this inredibly difficult time.