Luci4

James Dear was born on August 2, 2002, in Los Angeles, California. Dear began producing drill beats as a kid after getting a laptop for Christmas.^[5] In 2017, he received recognition as a teenager due to a beat he had posted to YouTube being used by rapper Tay-K for his song "Gotta Blast" off his second and final mixtape, Santana World.^[5][6] Dear later became a producer in BMB Deathrow, also known as Black Money Boyz Deathrow,^[5] a collective by SpaceGhostPurrp formed in 2015.^[6] In 2019, Dear formed the collective Jewelxxet along with Islurwhenitalk, 2shanez and Sellasouls.^[5] Rappers such as MajinBlxxdy, Bacleo, Xaviersobased and St47ic would also become members.^[5] Dear was noted as a part of the SoundCloud rap movement and descending from horrorcore and Memphis rap.^[5][7]

Dear and fellow American rapper Islurwhenitalk pioneered a mixing style known as "sigilkore" which was originally used in their track titles,^[5] but later became known as a distinct microgenre.^[5][8][9] Dear also pioneered the subgenre krushclub with his song "Kurxxed Emeraldz", which earned over 200,000 streams in mid-2021.^[10][5][11] His songs "Bodypartz",^[12] "All Eyez on Me",^[12][1] "Ave Domina Lilith",^[13] and "Kurxxed Emeraldz"^[12] would also go viral on TikTok.^[5] On January 24, 2024, "Bodypartz" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.^[14] Dear has released music under several titles such as 4jay, Luci4, BMB 4jay,^[15] Noktifer, Axxturel, Skkkult3x, Prynce Axxturel, Axx, 4jay X Luci4, Lucifer, Noktifer, Gebhuza, XaTuring and more.^[4]

In 2025, writing for Pitchfork, music critic Kieran Press-Reynolds noted Dear as a "sigilkore pioneer".^[8] In the article titled "The 5 Most Exciting Musical Rabbit Holes of 2025 So Far", Press-Reynolds cites Dear in a section titled "Axxcelerationism" as inspiring notable artists such as OsamaSon and Che, and a wave of "hex rap".^[8] On February 26, 2026, Press-Reynolds while writing for Pitchfork published an article in tribute to Dear, noting artists such as Xaviersobased and Odetari as drawing inspiration from his work.^[5] The Guardian described Dear's sound as "almost like he's trying to impersonate the internet".^[7]

On February 22, 2026, Dear was found dead at a friend's home in Los Angeles at age 23.^[16] His manager, Kayla G, confirmed his death on TikTok.^[4][17][9] The cause of death was not released, but Dear's grandparents raised suspicions as his wallet was found empty.^[18] They had previously expressed concern over his choice of friends and associates.^[18]