Tyler Golden/NBCUPDATE: The medical examiner's office confirmed Monday morning that Anthony Riley's cause of death was a suicide by hanging.
Christopher Mapp, who had been Riley's assistant since last summer, also shared his grief with E! News, saying, "Anthony Riley was a magnificently talented singer and one of the best performers I have ever seen. He gave every ounce of himself when performing, whether on a Philadelphia street corner in front of five people, on the Voice in front of millions, or in a smoky dive bar in the middle of West Virginia."
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The street performer who competed on The Voice, was recently found dead in a Philadelphia apartment. He was 28.
His sister, Halima Miley, told Philly.com that their family had yet to make funeral arrangements but that a memorial would be open to the public.
"The city was his family," she said. "Everybody knew him, he couldn't walk two steps without someone saying, 'Anthony, how you doin'?' The public loved him."
He was found dead on Friday in the basement of an apartment where he was staying, Philly.com reported. Authorities have not revealed the official cause of his death.
"We are sad over the passing of Anthony Riley," NBC said in a statement to E! News. "We offer our deepest condolences to his friends and family during this very difficult time."
Riley was a contestant during the recent eighth season of the NBC singing competition series. During his blind audition, he spurred all four coaches—Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and Pharrell Williams, to turn their chairs around in approval after hearing him belt out James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)."
He withdraw from The Voice after about a month of performances. Williams, who had him on his team, said Riley left for personal reasons. Philly.com reported that he departed the show in January to deal with substance abuse issues. Riley told the outlet that he battled drug addiction for two years and that after he left The Voice, he went to rehab.
"The Voice has been a really great source of support," Riley had told Philly.com. "At the time, [being on the show] wasn't working for me and I felt like I needed to go, instead of taking on more responsibility than I could handle."
Philadelphia busker Robby Parsons, who has performed with Riley, told Yahoo! Music that his sister called him on Friday to tell him the sad news.
"I called the friend he'd been living with, Bobby Iovine, and Bobby was in tears. And he said, ‘Robby, it's true,‘" Parsons said. "Anthony was a gentle soul. Just a loving, caring, gentle person, is what he was."
The Voice host Carson Daly also paid tribute to Riley.
"Praying for the family and friends of Anthony Riley today," he wrote on Instagram, alongside a pic of the two. It's a heartbreaking loss. He was incredibly talented and loved to sing. God Bless him."
(E! and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family.)