Details of Twin Cities rapper Mikey (Eyedea) Larsen's sudden death over the weekend are becoming a tad clearer, but the cause remains a mystery.
St. Paul police spokesman Andy Skoogman said Monday that the cause will not be determined until toxicology results are available. Authorities said that could take several weeks. Skoogman said there were no signs of foul play or trauma and that Larsen did not have underlying health issues or a history of substance-abuse problems.
His mother, Kathy Averill, and two friends found him after he failed to show up at an open-mic night he planned to attend Saturday. "We're not going to make any speculations about what happened," she said.
Similarly, the crew at Larsen's record label, Minneapolis-based Rhymesayers Entertainment, is not jumping the gun; they simply posted an R.I.P. message on their site along with tweets from his labelmates. "We lost our dear, beloved, genius brother Eyedea the other night," Brother Ali tweeted from the road. "Tears and tears. I just can't describe it."
News of Eyedea's death quickly became a national story Monday. MTV, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today and the Los Angeles Times all posted reports on their websites. A headline on Yahoo's Associated Content site said that he was "perhaps more talented than Eminem." Facebook and Twitter pages were filling up with links to old clips of Eyedea in action.
His mother has created a Facebook page to raise funds for a memorial service, which she said she is planning to put together in a couple of weeks.
Chris Riemenschneider 612-673-4658 Chao Xiong • 612-673-4391
