Well, ya see, there’s this young man, Ray Davon Jacobs, who most folks knew by the name of August 08. Born on January 2, 1992, in South Los Angeles, he had a life that was filled with music, success, and, sadly, a tragic end. Now, I ain’t one for all them fancy music terms, but I reckon this boy had somethin’ special in him. Folks in the music world sure recognized it, and that’s why they called him August 08 when he started makin’ a name for himself.
Growing up, it wasn’t like he had a bunch of folks in his family playin’ instruments or singin’, but this boy, he found his way to music all on his own. Ain’t that somethin’? His family might not have been musical, but he sure did make a mark. You see, back in 2018, he signed with a music label called 88rising. Now, I don’t know much about these big city labels, but what I do know is that 88rising gave him the chance to shine. He released his first project, called Father, back on May 11, 2018, and it did pretty good.
Now, this fella, August 08, wasn’t just some singer you hear on the radio for a minute and forget about. No, no, he had his hand in a big ol’ hit song that you might’ve heard of, called “I’m the One.” It was by DJ Khaled and had Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, and Lil Wayne all on it. It topped the charts, and his name got spread around. I reckon if you ain’t heard that song, you might have been livin’ under a rock.
But, Lord, the world ain’t always kind. On August 26, 2023, August 08 was taken from this world too soon. They say he was shot multiple times at an apartment complex in LA, and by the time they got him to the hospital, it was too late. The doctors, they couldn’t save him. He was just 31 years old when he passed. And let me tell ya, that hit the music world hard. It ain’t right when someone so young, with so much ahead of ’em, gets taken like that. His death was ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner.
Now, even though he’s gone, his music ain’t. His first posthumous album, Pretend It’s Okay, came out on August 8, 2024, just a year after his death. I reckon that’s the way folks remember him, through his songs and the mark he left on the world. The music still plays, and his name still lives on, even though he ain’t here to see it.
Before his untimely passing, he had already put out a few albums. His first was Father back in 2018, then he followed it up with Emotional Cuh in 2020, and another one called Seasick in 2022. It seems like the man was always workin’, always creatin’, always pushin’ forward in this crazy world.
So, if you ain’t familiar with this young man’s work, maybe give his music a listen. It’s a real mix of emotions, like a journey through the highs and lows of life, and though he may be gone, his music lives on for all to hear.
In the end, August 08 might not be with us anymore, but his legacy sure ain’t goin’ anywhere. It’s a reminder to us all that life’s short and unpredictable, and sometimes, you gotta make the most of the time you got.
Tags：[Ray Davon Jacobs, August 08, Music, Hip Hop, 88rising, Posthumous Album, DJ Khaled, I’m the One, Los Angeles Music Scene, Emotional Cuh, Seasick, Legacy of August 08]
