The cause of death for 8 Mile rapper-actor Nashawn Breedlove has been revealed after he died in September 2023 aged 46.
Breedlove died of acute intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, acetyl fentanyl, cocaine and ethanol, according to an autopsy report released Friday by New Jersey’s Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner and obtained by USA TODAY.
His death was ruled an accident.
According to medical examiner reports seen by the outlet, Breedlove’s body was found in a “decomposed” state in his one-bedroom apartment in New Jersey.
An officer and landlord had to use crowbars to force open the locked door after the tenant beneath his third-floor apartment noticed a foul odor and “puddle of brown fluid” leaking from her ceiling for the second time in two days.
Law enforcement reportedly found a glass pipe and other paraphernalia used for smoking crack cocaine in Nashawn’s unit.
Known for playing freestyle rapper Lotto in the movie, Breedlove died in his home state, a spokesperson for the New Jersey Department of Health confirmed to USA TODAY on Sept. 26. HipHopDX was first to report the news.
The USA TODAY report sets out Breedlove was best known for a scene in 8 Mile in which he and Eminem, who played the aspiring rapper B-Rabbit, compete in a rap battle. The songwriter and rapper also wrote and recorded a song in the soundtrack for DJ Pooh’s 2001 film The Wash, starring Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
“RIP to one of the few emcee’s to beat Eminem… Lotto from 8 Mile,” rapper Mickey Factz wrote in an Instagram post on Sept. 25. “You will be missed for your tenacity and aggressiveness.”