A$AP Yams’s death was caused by an accidental drug overdose, according to New York City’s chief medical examiner. The mastermind behind the A$AP Mob, who helped A$AP Rocky in his rise to fame, died on 18 January, aged 26.
Now the New York Times reports that his death was caused by acute mixed drug intoxication. Both opiates and benzodiazepine were found in his system. The death was ruled an accident.
Yams, whose real name was Steven Rodriguez, operated behind the scenes in A$AP Mob, but played a crucial role in A$AP Rocky’s stardom. A 2013 profile in the New York Times observed: “Much of what you hear in Rocky — a fully assimilated take on hip-hop styles from across the country and from across time periods — can be traced back to Yams.”
The hip-hop world was shocked by the death, with stars including the Weeknd, Drake, Mac Miller and Azealia Banks paying tribute. “ASAP YAMS should be remembered as a leader, an innovator and most importantly as an important part of NYC youth culture,” Banks wrote on Twitter.
