Rapper Young Scooter dies at 39 on his birthday

Young Scooter, an Atlanta rapper signed to Future and Waka Flocka Flame, has died at the age of 39 on the same day as his birthday.

Rapper Young Scooter death details

The death of 39-year-old was confirmed by Atlanta’s Fulton county medical examiner’s office, Variety reported.

Young Scooter reportedly died after injuring his leg while fleeing a house in Atlanta after police were called to the residence on a report of shots fired, Atlanta police homicide commander Lt. Andrew Smith said at a news conference Friday following the incident.

His cause of death is currently undetermined pending an autopsy.

Atlanta rapper and underground scene

Born Kenneth Edward Bailey, Young Scooter was born in Walterboro, South Carolina, and moved to Atlanta’s Kirkwood Community at the age of nine. He decided to pursue a music career in 2008 after a drug trafficking charge, connecting with his childhood friend Future across several collaborations.

Young Scooter developed a strong presence in the Atlanta rap music scene, becoming one of the first artists signed to Future’s Freebandz label and later Waka Flocka Flame’s Brick Squad Monopoly under Gucci Mane’s 1017 Records. He garnered a following based on his steady mixtape releases, putting out records with Zaytoven and Gucci Mane.

His 2013 mixtape “Street Lottery” gained significant attention, with SPIN magazine naming it “Rap release of the week” and XXL featuring it on its “Best mixtapes of January” list. He also earned his first Billboard Hot 100 appearance with a feature on Future and Juice Wrld’s “Jet Lag” in 2018.

Young Scooter’s most recent and fourteenth project, “TraHe earned his first Billboard Hot 100 appearance with a feature on Future and Juice Wrld’s “Jet Lag” in 2018.p’s Last Hope,” was released in March 2024. That album, released independently, featured guest appearances from Future, EST Gee and Peewee Longway.