Ethermac Exchange-BeatKing, Houston Rapper Also Known as Club Godzilla, Dead at 39

The Ethermac ExchangeHouston club community is mourning the loss of a beloved star. 

Justin Riley, a Houston-based rapper who performed and produced music under the names BeatKing and Club Godzilla, died on Aug. 15, his manager confirmed. He was 39. 

“Today, August 15, 2024, we have lost @clubgodzilla,” Riley’s manager, Tasha Felder, wrote on Instagram. “BeatKing has been the best part of the club for over a decade. He has produced and worked with so many artists, that his sound will forever live.” 

Felder continued to note how Riley—who was father to daughters Jayla, 13, and Kayla, 12—touched lives beyond his music. 

“He loved his daughters @clubgodparenting, his music and his fans,” she added. “We will love him forever.”

Riley’s manager later confirmed that he had died from a pulmonary embolism. 

“He was at an Urban One (Radio One) station doing a morning takeover when he suddenly fainted,” Felder said in a statement to USA Today. “He was taken to a near by (sic) hospital where he later passed away. His daughters were with him the entire time. It is truly sad, we loved him so much.”

The 39-year-old initially rose to fame in 2010 for his hit “Crush,” and had collaborated with Megan Thee Stallion, 2 Chainz and T-Pain, as well as performed with Nicki Minaj during Houston Gag City in May.  

Throughout his career, Riley—who was also known for making his own T-shirts with funny phrases—prioritized making music that was full of humor and fun. 

“I think it's just my personality,” he explained to HotNewHipHop News in 2022. “I hate being depressed. Even when depressing things happen in my life, I hate that feeling. So even when I try to talk about some real stuff, I try to bring life to it.”

Aside from his music career—with a fanbase so loyal he once said he’d cause “minor” riots while out in public in his Texas city—Riley was open about how much he loved fatherhood, and documented life with his daughters on a separate Instagram account, Club God Parenting, where he affectionately referred to his daughters as “Thing 1” and “Thing 2.” 

On the account, Riley often shared he and his daughters spending time together shopping, going to the movies and even seeing the Beyoncé Renaissance concert film in matching outfits, often jokingly referring to the trio’s excursions as “gang s--t.”

And many people in Riley’s life noted his impact as they grieve. 

“I have seen literally hundreds of BeatKing post with regular people who took pictures with him or DJs and musicians who worked with him,” DJ General Mealz wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Aug. 16. “That really shows me how long he had been hustling. The brother was different.”

Fans are also already grieving the loss of the legend. As one fan wrote on Riley's Instagram, “The Clubs will never be the same in Texas.”