The 12-month-old son of Kanye West's cousin has passed away.

The rapper's cousin Ricky Anderson, who works at Kanye's label G.O.O.D. Music, and his partner Erica Paige recently lost their son Avery, who passed away in his sleep, according to TMZ.com. Editors at the website report there had been no earlier signs of illness or distress.

Ricky announced the sad news on Instagram on Monday (13Mar17) by sharing a close-up black and white picture of his son, who had recently celebrated his first birthday, and writing in the caption, "Today was the worst day of my life!! I lost my lil man and gained an angel! Rest in Paradise!!!! I love you man."

He also shared videos of his son, including footage of him picking up a plastic ball and putting it through a mini basketball hoop and trying to use a toothbrush. In the captions, he wrote, "My heart!!" and "Missing him so much!! @erica.paige."

Erica has not updated her Instagram since the weekend (11-12Mar17) when she posted a picture showing herself, Avery and music producer Quincy Jones all pretending to suck their thumbs. She wrote alongside it, "The things we do to keep him entertained... Thanks for having us @quincydjones! "

Avery's death serves as another blow for Kanye following the armed robbery attack on his wife Kim Kardashian in Paris, France in October (16) and his mental breakdown and hospitalization in November (16) which was reportedly triggered by the anniversary of his mother Donda West's passing.

Donda died in November, 2007 of heart disease and “multiple post-operative factors” after plastic surgery.