B2K singer De’Mario “Raz-B” Thornton and his wife, Mona Li Thornton, are mourning the unexpected death of their 3-month-old son, Astro Monte Thornton.
The couple’s spokesperson, David Robinson, confirmed the death to USA Today on Thursday, September 10, saying the family was grieving and asking for privacy.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the unexpected passing of Astro Monte Thornton, beloved son of Mona and De’Mario ‘Raz B’ Thornton,” Robinson said.
The family has not publicly disclosed a cause of death.
The loss comes only months after Raz-B and Mona Li welcomed Astro into their family. In May, Raz-B shared a family photo from the hospital as they prepared for the birth of their second child together.
“Right now we’re at the hospital getting ready to welcome our newest addition, Astro,” he wrote on May 16, celebrating the arrival of another baby boy for the Thornton family.
Five days later, Raz-B shared a tribute to Mona Li, thanking her for giving him “such a beautiful family” and praising her strength as a mother and partner.
The family later formally celebrated Astro’s arrival through a post on the Instagram account of Raz-B and Mona Li’s older son, Versai Carter Thornton, on May 23.
“Best week ever,” the post said, announcing that Versai had welcomed his baby brother and was becoming a big brother.
Astro’s death comes less than four months after those celebrations.
Raz-B and Mona Li are also parents to Versai, who was born in October 2024. Mona Li has an older daughter from a previous relationship.
Mona Li had publicly shared her pregnancy journey earlier this year. In April, while celebrating the end of B2K and Bow Wow’s Boys 4 Life tour, she revealed that she was nine months pregnant and praised Raz-B for continuing to perform while building their family.
The couple had also shared affectionate posts about their growing family in the weeks surrounding Astro’s birth.
Raz-B is best known as a founding member of B2K, the R&B group he formed with Lil’ Fizz, J-Boog and Omarion. The group scored a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit in 2002 with “Bump, Bump, Bump,” featuring Sean “Diddy” Combs.
For now, the family is asking for privacy as they mourn the loss of their infant son.
