B2K singer De’Mario “Raz-B” Thornton and wife Mona Li Thornton announced the unexpected passing of their three-month-old son on Thursday (Sept. 10). In a statement to USA Today, a spokesperson for the 41-year-old singer confirmed that son Astro Monte Thornton died of undisclosed causes.
“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 of the R&B supergroup B2K,” read the statement. “The family asks for privacy as they navigate this difficult time. They truly appreciate your love and support.”
The couple share an older child, son Versai Carter Thornton, who was born in October 2024. Raz-B celebrated the birth of Astro in an Instagram post on May 18 just before the baby’s birth in which the Thornton’s posed in white shirts and jeans with Versai and Mona’s older daughter from a previous relationship. “I always wanted to take a real family picture with my own family… and finally, God made a way 🙏🏾❤️,” wrote Raz at the time.
“Right now we’re at the hospital getting ready to welcome our newest addition, Astro 🚀👶🏾 another baby boy to the Thornton family. Big congratulations to my beautiful wife for being so strong through this journey. Watching you become a mother again is one of the greatest blessings I could ever witness. The Thornton family continues to grow… and our legacy does too.” The post also featured a pic of the singer standing next to his wife as he cradled her pregnant belly.
A week later, a post shared to son Versai’s Insta confirmed the baby’s birth in an Instagram post, with the message, “Best week ever 🥹💙✨ We welcomed my new baby brother Astro into the family, and it already feels amazing being a big brother 🫶🏽👶🏽.”
The “Bump, Bump, Bump” boy band made up of Omarion, Raz, J-Boog and Lil’ Fizz released their fourth studio album, Eclipse, earlier this year and they are in the midst of their Boys 4 Life tour, which is slated to go overseas for a trio of shows in England in December in Birmingham (Dec. 10), Manchester (Dec. 12) and London (Dec. 13).
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