Tyler Smith (tylerhateslife) Dies in Motorcycle Accident
Christian hip-hop star tragically passes away
Posted: August 15, 2024, 5:00 PM | Category:General Artist Tags: Source: NRT Staff Reports (JG)
Tyler Smith (aka tylerhateslife) died in a motorcycle accident during the early morning of Tuesday, August 13. He is survived by his fiancé Savannah Kilburn and three children. He was a Chaplain Assistant to the 75 Ranger Regiment of the Army. He was also a devout advocate for mental health as heard in his music and from his media platform.
His stage name, tylerhateslife, references John 12:25 where it states, "Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life." (NIV)
Last February, Smith released his debut self-titled album. In 2024 alone, he's released nine singles along with a few impactful feature verses for ENDURE and Chyde. Over the past four-year period, he's dropped 30-plus singles. He's amassed over 367,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, 588,000 followers on Tiktok and another 163,000 on Instagram. He's also had four of his songs generate over a million streams on Spotify including "mental health." racking up over 8.6 million.
Tyler was signed to Rapzilla Records and Justin Sarachik of the site and label wrote this in his eulogy: "Knowing Tyler and talking to him, was like trying to catch energy with your bare hands. That’s why you can classify his music and artistry as lightning in a bottle. Tyler wasn’t quite a rapper, wasn’t just a singer, wasn’t necessarily just a songwriter – he was everything all at once. He was genreless. He didn’t particularly care if you liked what he was doing, he knew, that whatever he was working on would reach the person it was supposed to."
"Hundreds and thousands of comments have been pouring in on social media since the news broke," continued Justin. "Every single one is talking about how his music brought them out of a tough time or how a personal interaction with him turned their situations around. That is impact. It’s the kind of impact we can hope and dream of leaving on this Earth. He’s gone, but his music, his impact, and his legacy live on forever.
Please stand with the entire staff here at NewReleaseToday and lift up his immediate and extended families in prayer during these uncertain and difficult times.
