Biography:

James Dear (August 2, 2002 – February 22, 2026), known professionally as Luci4 or Axxturel, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. He was known for pioneering the internet microgenre sigilkore. His songs blew up on TikTok in 2021, leading to him signing to Atlantic Records. He originally started producing songs as “4jay”. He has been noted as an influential figure in the underground rap scene.

His debut single, “Bodypartz”, received a gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, following a surge in popularity on TikTok.

Career

See also: Sigilkore

Luci4 originally was a producer in BMB Deathrow, a collective by SpaceGhostPurrp formed in 2015.[1] He was known for producing Tay-K‘s “Gotta Blast” off his second and final mixtape, Santana World.[1]

He was a pioneer of the sigilkore genre,[2] alongside the subgenre krushclub.[3] With his songs “Bodypartz”,[4] “All Eyez on Me”,[4] and “Kurxxed Emeraldz”[4] all going viral on TikTok. On January 24, 2024, “Bodypartz” was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America,[5] following a surge of the song’s popularity on TikTok.[6] “Kurxxed Emeraldz” earned over 200,000 streams in mid-2021.[7]

Musical style and influence

In 2025, writing for Pitchfork, music critic Kieran Press-Reynolds noted Dear as a “sigilkore pioneer”.[2] In the article titled “The 5 Most Exciting Musical Rabbit Holes of 2025 So Far”, Press-Reynolds cites Dear as inspiring artists such as OsamaSon, Che, bleood, KRXXK, 2slimey and zatru, along with a wave of “hex rap“.[2]

He was known for his unique approach with hip-hop drums, and spiritual lyrics over dark club beats, which are often chopped and screwed to extreme tempos to make his songs glitchy,[4] with his music being classified as soundcloud rap.

Death

On February 22, 2026, Luci4 was found dead at his home in Los Angeles.[8][9][10]

Credits: