Chelsea Reject, Beloved Brooklyn Rapper, Passes Away

Chelsea Alexander, better known as Chelsea Reject, the Brooklyn-based indie rapper who had cultivated a name for herself through her introspective lyrics and boundless exploration of her artistry, has passed away.

News of her passing came through a GoFundMe from Brian Harris. In a Facebook post from Chelsea’s account on Thursday, Harris referred to himself as the artist’s boyfriend while sharing the GoFundMe.

In a comment accompanying that post, also shared on Thursday, he wrote that the cause of her death has not been determined yet, and said that he was with her prior to and after her passing.

“She had chest pain starting yesterday morning,” Harris wrote. “We called an ambulance and they said it might be gas. The pain persisted so we were going to go to the hospital but she wanted to take a nap first due to the pain subsiding and not sleeping earlier. We slept for an [hour] and I woke up to her being lifeless in my arms. After performing CPR for 15 mins waiting on paramedics and them doing CPR and procedures for 35 mins, they had to stop.”

The GoFundMe is to cover funeral costs for Chelsea, with all proceeds going toward her family.

Chelsea became a notable figure in New York City’s indie rap scene during the 2010s. According to a 2015 XXL article, she began as a poet before being encouraged to rap by a school mate in high school, AKTHESAVIOR, better known as one half of the Brooklyn duo The Underachievers.

That same year, she released her Cmplx mixtape, which featured former Pro Era members T’Nah Apex (now just known as T’Nah) and Dyemond Lewis, as well as current members Kirk Knight, CJ Fly and Nyck Caution.

She’d go on to release several other projects, with the most recent being last year’s Rogue with T’Nah. The pair toured Japan in support of the release.

Throughout her career, Chelsea would share stages with rap heavyweights; she was a part of a SXSW 2014 show that included Mobb Deep and Talib Kweli as headliners.

Late last month, Chelsea shared what she hoped to achieve for this year and gave some advice to fellow indie artists.

“Get organized. Like, if you get organized and you have a plan, get really involved in your rollouts and everything,” she said in a video for digital music distribution service TuneCore. “Become part of it, make sure that you’re every day working on something toward your goals, so that you don’t ever end up feeling lost. Consistency breeds progress.”

Amid news of her passing, a number of people offered tributes to Chelsea on social media, including Chuck D, Radamiz, AKTHESAVIOR and others.