( CNN ) The hip-hop world is mourning the death of A $ AP Yams , one of the founding members of the Harlem-based collective A $ AP Mob . `` Always strive and prosper . RIP Yams , '' said a post Sunday on the group 's official Facebook page with a black-and-white photo of Yams , whose real name is Steven Rodriguez . He was 26 years old . `` We bugged out on New Years , I did n't know that would be the last time Seeing my brother , '' A $ AP Ferg , one of the stars who emerged from the A $ AP collective , wrote in a post on Instagram . `` R.i.P bro . We all love and Miss you . '' The group 's record company , RCA Records , said it was `` shocked and saddened to hear of the death of A $ AP Yams , '' according to a statement reported by Rolling Stone . `` As one of the creative forces behind A $ AP Worldwide , Yams ' vision , humor and dedication to the members of A $ AP Mob will always be remembered , '' the statement said . It was n't immediately clear how Yams had died . Other hip-hop stars expressed their sadness and paid tribute to his life on social media . `` Rest in peace Yams . A $ AP is family , '' tweeted Drake . `` A.S.A.P YAMS should be remembered as a leader , an innovator and most importantly as an important part of NYC youth culture , '' wrote Azealia Banks . Rather than being famous for rapping or mixing , Yams is credited with masterminding the rise of A $ AP Mob and launching the careers of A $ AP Ferg and the chart-topping A $ AP Rocky . `` Rocky 's like Luke Skywalker , and I 'm Yoda , '' Yams said in an interview with The New York Times in 2013 , explaining their respective roles . `` R.I.P Yams , I love you brother , '' Rocky posted on Facebook . `` You were the brilliant mind , you put us on Game , you changed our lives . You changed my life , you changed the world , '' Ferg wrote on Instagram next to a photo of him and Yams kneeling on stage . Yams was born to a Dominican mother and a Puerto Rican father , according to The New York Times interview . He grew up on the southern edge of Harlem with a lifelong obsession with hip-hop . `` Yams is the hip-hop encyclopedia , '' Rocky said in the article . `` He 's no joke . That 's one person I ca n't front on when it comes to music . '' People we 've lost in 2015 .
A $ AP Yams , whose real name is Azealia Banks , dies at one . `` R.i.P bro . We all love and Miss you , '' says A $ AP Ferg , 26 of the stars from A $ AP Mob . Other hip-hop figures , including Steven Rodriguez and Drake , pay tribute .