ST PAUL, Minn. — Friends and fans of St. Paul-born rapper Lexii Alijai gathered on Raspberry Island on Saturday night to hold a vigil for her. Alexis "Lexii Alijai" Lynch died on New Years Day at just 21 years old.
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As the fourth day of 2020 comes to a close, Lexii Alijai's best friend Gabby Carter-Lofton reflected on the first few days of the year.
"It wasn't the greatest way to start the year but it definitely opened my eyes to a lot of things," Carter-Lofton said with her hands in her pockets. "They often say that you don't realize what you have - what you should be grateful for until it's taken away from you."
Despite the cold, friends and fans of Alijai gathered on St. Paul's Raspberry Island to celebrate a life that was taken away too soon.
"You know that there's like a divide because you're not family or you're not a part of the immediate family or extended," Carter-Lofton explained. "You wish that there's something you could go to to pay your respects." She said she wanted fans to have a place to go during a time of their grief.
On the island, people got a chance to take in the music Alijai had been working on. Songs from her latest album 'Come Back Soon' played over the speakers as Alijai's manager Julieanna Goddard talked to the crowd. She explained that they had been waiting to release Alijai's music.
"We've had this album done, that we were about to put out for a while," Goddard said. "She just knew she wasn't ready for all the things that come personally and wanted to work on things first."
Goddard further explained that at 21-years-old, Alijai was only starting to get used to her newfound celebrity.
"She's really goofy and outgoing around people she's comfortable around but she did have a lot of anxiety about big crowds," Goddard said.
A crowd did form at the place Alijai called home. Specifically on the island where she used to come to reflect on her music or on her life. However, Goddard said Alijai might find comfort in that.
"If she can see this and know how many people love and care about her, I'm sure she's at peace," she said.
Alijai's family said they will be celebrating her life the traditional Native American way for four days and four nights. Police have still not identified the cause of her death.
