Up-and-coming Los Angeles rapper MoneySign Suede was stabbed to death in a California prison ... cutting his life short as his career was catching steam.
Prison officials for the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad, CA tell TMZ Hip Hop ... they're currently investigating MoneySign's death as a homicide after discovering he was absent from a headcount check Tuesday around 9:55 p.m.
According to our sources, the "Back to the Bag" rapper was found unresponsive in another area of the prison. Prison personnel attempted to administer emergency aid ... but were unsuccessful as he was pronounced dead around 10:00 p.m.
We're told the death has prompted officials to restrict prisoner movement while they conduct their investigation ... with assistance from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office and the Monterey County Coroner, the latter of whom will determine MoneySign's cause of death.
Nicholas Rosenberg, MoneySign's attorney, told the Los Angeles Times the rapper was stabbed in the neck in the shower and that those who knew him were shocked.
As news of MoneySign's death circulated, his rapper friends Fenix Flexin and Baby Stone Gorillas took to IG to pay emotional tributes.
MoneySign was only 22. RIP.