COVER
Lil Tjay
Is Blessed and Blessed and Blessed
By Emily Rosati
Publishing date: Aug 04, 2023
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It brought back the spirit of fun in making music,” Lil Tjay earnestly admits, connecting with me following the release of his long-awaited third studio album, 222. For Tjay, 222 is a milestone, showcasing his growth as an artist and his commitment to carefully curating a collection of melodic rap energetically charged with an emotional depth that aims to have timeless appeal.
Bronx-born, Lil Tjay, quickly rose to popularity in the rap scene in the late 2010s with his euphonious style of rap that embodies vulnerable storytelling that centers around his life story, touching on street life, love, and distinctive personal experiences. What started as a journey of being a SoundCloud rapper quickly intensified into much more. His debut single “Resume” became a viral hit and established him as a rising star in the hip-hop scene, prompting him to declare himself the King of New York, a place that is coincidentally acknowledged as the birthplace of rap. Following the debut with several successful singles, including “Brothers”, “Leaked”, and “F.N.”, further solidified his presence, leading him to collaborations with the likes of other Lils—we’re talking Wayne and Baby. Each single, E.P., and studio project he released exposed the finesse and layers that Tjay has to offer.
But 222 is not just another album for Lil Tjay; it’s a comeback following a near-death experience he had, after being a victim of gun violence on June 22, 2022, that informs his flows and the title itself, holding a delicate personal connection. Still, the album does not center around the traumatic event but simply reflects how the trajectory of his life shifted, with his outlook following suit. 222 offered Lil Tjay the space and opportunity to reinvent his commitment to making music with meaning to define his legacy.
It brought back the spirit of fun in making music,” Lil Tjay earnestly admits, connecting with me following the release of his long-awaited third studio album, 222. For Tjay, 222 is a milestone, showcasing his growth as an artist and his commitment to carefully curating a collection of melodic rap energetically charged with an emotional depth that aims to have timeless appeal.
Bronx-born, Lil Tjay, quickly rose to popularity in the rap scene in the late 2010s with his euphonious style of rap that embodies vulnerable storytelling that centers around his life story, touching on street life, love, and distinctive personal experiences. What started as a journey of being a SoundCloud rapper quickly intensified into much more. His debut single “Resume” became a viral hit and established him as a rising star in the hip-hop scene, prompting him to declare himself the King of New York, a place that is coincidentally acknowledged as the birthplace of rap. Following the debut with several successful singles, including “Brothers”, “Leaked”, and “F.N.”, further solidified his presence, leading him to collaborations with the likes of other Lils—we’re talking Wayne and Baby. Each single, E.P., and studio project he released exposed the finesse and layers that Tjay has to offer.
But 222 is not just another album for Lil Tjay; it’s a comeback following a near-death experience he had, after being a victim of gun violence on June 22, 2022, that informs his flows and the title itself, holding a delicate personal connection. Still, the album does not center around the traumatic event but simply reflects how the trajectory of his life shifted, with his outlook following suit. 222 offered Lil Tjay the space and opportunity to reinvent his commitment to making music with meaning to define his legacy.
I try not to get mad at things in life because everything happens for a reason. [Why] I say that is: I’ve been blessed and blessed and blessed.
I try not to get mad at things in life because everything happens for a reason. [Why] I say that is: I’ve been blessed and blessed and blessed.
“I feel like my story is unique that I got to come out and tell it. What better time to do it than now? When I’ve got a voice that could reach,” he says, “For the sake of people and my fans, listening to me, and understanding that I come from a normal struggle—I feel that’s what I need to do.” Serving as a compendium of his personal struggles and triumphs, Lil Tjay “vents” about his life through storytelling, in which he aims to motivate, inspire, or at the very least provide comfort to those with similar experiences. “You know, a lot of things that I went through, you feel me—I might say ten things in a song and somebody might relate to one or two. But, just the fact that they know we went through something that was mutual, could mean a lot to them and know that it’s not an excuse to not do something.”
With perceptible vulnerability, Lil Tjay illustrates his experience of growing up in poverty (“Project Walls”), navigating out of struggle (“Beat The Odds Part 2”), and even revealing he was adopted (“Foster Baby”). He enlisted an impressive repertoire of fellow musicians, including Youngboy Never Broke Again, Summer Walker, Fivio Foreign, Polo G, The Kid LAROI, and Jadakiss, connecting with each other’s pasts, equipping 222 with sincere and frank narration that weaves itself throughout the project. Lil Tjay makes special mention of “Beat The Odds Part 2”, in which he and Polo G portray their come-up, outperforming circumstances and expectations, emerging victorious. Opening with the chorus, Lil Tjay sings in his self-described light voice “Grateful for the shit I got ‘cause I come from a hard life / Demons on my mental, saw some shit I wanna archive.”
“The Polo verse was amazing, I love his verse on Beat The Odds, I always did,” he expands, “The Kid LAROI song means a lot to me because I remember me and Kid—I think he was 15 and he didn’t have none of this going on. Same with Polo. And Jadakiss was a good stamp for the city.”
Lil Tjay bares his soul with unmatched realness and admits that he can’t be scared to be vulnerable. The album’s title itself signals spiritual significance, emphasizing his belief in a divine plan in play, with the number 2 appearing in previous project titles True 2 Myself and Destined 2 Win, making 222 the third installment. Furthermore, inspired by the infamous life-changing incident, Lil Tjay’s helicopter rescue after the shooting, where the time on the clock read 2:22.
“I try not to get mad at things in life because everything happens for a reason. [Why] I say that is: I’ve been blessed and blessed and blessed,” he reveals, “For me, to just be here today and be healthy, I just know I’m here for a reason. I feel like God got me. It keeps me sane.”
My other songs were here for the moment and [222 is] something that if you look back on in 10 or 20 years—I hope it’ll feel good. I think it’ll still feel good then.
Keenly aware of the fast-paced culture of music consumption, Lil Tjay notes patterns of fans often judging albums quickly, willing to label them as “mid” or “fire” before giving them a chance to really marinate. In contrast, he prefers to take his time with music, both as an artist and listener. “I think there’s a divide between people who stay dropping music, that is for now, and people who spend the extra time and won’t just make a song in fifteen minutes and only do that,” he explains, unraveling his perspective on how our current listening landscape affects the quality of music and the culture at large, “It might be rare for people to spend more time, but [based] off of the history of music, there will always be people that are super music heads that want to put quality into their work. In the future, I see a lot of stuff will probably be more dance, afro, and trend type of music, more than heartfelt things.”
After his recovery journey, Lil Tjay pivoted back to making music as he had done in succession for years, this time taking time to craft something that felt meaningful and complete to him. 222 surpassed 8M streams on its day of release, reflective of his devoted fan base, eager to hear the long-awaited album, to which he expressed, “It feels relieving because I took my time with it.” Tjay’s focus is on foresight, now embracing an approach of timeless appeal, as he feels best practice in creating music is aiming to resonate with listeners even after years have passed. “I think the more people listen to this album, the better they’ll like it. These songs were chosen for a reason. My other songs were here for the moment and [222 is] something that if you look back on in 10 or 20 years—I hope it’ll feel good. I think it’ll still feel good then.”
Lil Tjay has evolved into much more than his proclamation of being the King of New York. In fact, he’s opening his eyes to just how big the world is outside of New York and tells me he spends most of his time now in Europe and L.A., that “looking at palm trees is soothing”, and that he has a future goal of buying a nice house with a boat dock and a yacht on Star Island in Miami. Until then, he affirms to me that still, “New York has the best swag in America,” and he’s looking forward to performing his new songs on his upcoming tour, with a newfound confidence, building himself up as much as he can before going on the road.
Photographer: JP Doughterty
