Russian officials said an investigation has been launched into the death of well-known hip hop artist Detsl.
One of Russia’s first rappers, Kirill “Detsl” Tolmatsky, 35, reportedly died early on February 3 of a heart attack after performing in Izhevsk, the capital of Udmurtia.
“The investigators are examining the scene of the incident, forensic tests will be carried out,” a spokesman for Udmurtia’s Investigative Committee said.
Detsl — which is slang in Russian for “short one” — debuted in 2000 with the rap album Who Are You? It sold more than 1 million copies. His second album Street Fighter, was released in 2001.
Detsl won several awards, including the Golden Gramophone Award (2001), Muz-TV, and MTV Music Awards.
His death was first reported by his fan club on the Russian social-media network VKontakte. His father, music producer Aleksandr Tolmatsky, confirmed on Facebook that his son had died.
