{"id":3082,"date":"2025-05-08T05:42:38","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T09:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/?p=3082"},"modified":"2025-09-17T15:57:50","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T19:57:50","slug":"lil-tjay-known-as-the-prince-of-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/eternal-3082-lil-tjay-known-as-the-prince-of-new-york","title":{"rendered":"Lil Tjay, Known as the Prince of New York"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lil Tjay\u2019s story is another example of how the Bronx continues to shape rap culture from within, despite challenging external and internal circumstances. The borough that gave the world hip-hop continues to produce talent that draws inspiration from the streets, their struggles, and their own experiences. From an aggressive teenager who served time in prison, Tjay transformed into a voice for his generation and achieved genuine stardom by releasing several platinum singles. Read on at <a href=\"http:\/\/bronxski.com\">bronxski.com<\/a> to learn more about this young Bronx rapper&#8217;s road to fame and the obstacles he overcame along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3565750f125\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3565750f125\"  aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/eternal-3082-lil-tjay-known-as-the-prince-of-new-york\/#The_Young_Troublemaker\" >The Young Troublemaker<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/eternal-3082-lil-tjay-known-as-the-prince-of-new-york\/#The_Road_to_Success\" >The Road to Success<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/eternal-3082-lil-tjay-known-as-the-prince-of-new-york\/#Between_Life_and_Death\" >Between Life and Death<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/eternal-3082-lil-tjay-known-as-the-prince-of-new-york\/#The_Sacred_Album_%E2%80%98222\" >The Sacred Album &#8216;222&#8217;<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/eternal-3082-lil-tjay-known-as-the-prince-of-new-york\/#Style_and_Career_Continuation\" >Style and Career Continuation<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Young_Troublemaker\"><\/span>The Young Troublemaker<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tione Jayden Merritt, known as Lil Tjay, grew up in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx. A large family, poverty, and a criminal environment shaped a boy who had to grow up very quickly. In middle school, Lil Tjay entered a life of crime and spent time in juvenile detention centers. In 2016, at age 15, he was sentenced to a year in prison on a robbery charge. It was then that Tjay first seriously thought about music, writing lyrics in jail with the goal of turning his life around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After his release, Lil Tjay got right to work. He began recording songs on his phone and computer, experimenting with his sound and drawing inspiration from the music his mother listened to, like Usher and Michael Jackson. His blend of emotional vocals and honest, dark teenage stories quickly resonated. His first solo song, \u201cResume,\u201d went viral, racking up over <strong>14 million streams in less than a year<\/strong>. By the summer of 2018, the track \u201cBrothers\u201d was blasting in every school hallway in New York, cementing Lil Tjay\u2019s status as a rapidly rising star.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bronxski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/05\/ad_4nxc6fv-ucoktv3iia2xlx3syuf7mo9ani0a4nykrdguwyop7qr_e62qote3_dpqalln6d81kjw_gto34968qk9fqvhnvkngikaoto4fh2-w5fs7km-r2lcvjera95xrpkmmttq93fwkeyooes5cpub-pgepvjghz-ggbs.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Road_to_Success\"><\/span>The Road to Success<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the major success of his independent tracks\u2014including \u201cBrothers,\u201d \u201cGoat,\u201d and \u201cLeaked\u201d\u2014Lil Tjay quickly caught the attention of major labels. In late 2018, he signed with Columbia Records, which released his debut EP, \u201cNo Comparison.\u201d In August 2019, he dropped his second EP, \u201cF.N,\u201d featuring popular singles like \u201cRuthless\u201d with Jay Critch and \u201cLaneswitch.\u201d The album was Tjay\u2019s first release to hit the Billboard 200 chart and served as a preview of his full-length studio debut, \u201cTrue 2 Myself.\u201d The album went gold and peaked at <strong>number five on the main U.S. chart<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bronxski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/05\/ad_4nxc6mt20k0epcgfupnmuhgf1uqtn5bsazgzg2wju4fflwc9rcscfdcklqv_5kpth4hksqigvvneuawapmmliuta7t4h-h6s67el4bhjs_gg8klfpnji-ji2tdhjpfk2ceficxbk11qkeyooes5cpub-pgepvjghz-ggbs.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2020, following his debut\u2019s success, Lil Tjay released his third EP, \u201cState of Emergency,\u201d which charted in the top 40. The most successful tracks from the EP were \u201cZoo York\u201d with Fivio Foreign and Pop Smoke. That same year also saw the release of his emotional R&amp;B single, \u201cNone of Your Love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2021, Lil Tjay reached new heights with the hit \u201cCalling My Phone,\u201d featuring 6LACK, which debuted at <strong>number three on the Billboard Hot 100<\/strong>. The song served as a launchpad for his second studio album, \u201cDestined 2 Win,\u201d which featured Polo G, Offset, Saweetie, and others. The album also landed in the top five of the Billboard 200. What\u2019s interesting is that Lil Tjay never wanted mainstream stardom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t write for virality,\u201d he says, admitting he doesn&#8217;t even have apps like TikTok on his phone. Lil Tjay compares his songs to poetry: \u201cIt\u2019s about making music that I like.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Over the next two years, Lil Tjay continued to release hits, including \u201cNot in the Mood,\u201d \u201cIn My Head,\u201d \u201cBeat the Odds,\u201d and \u201cGive You What You Want.\u201d But then something happened that would cast doubt on the future stardom of the \u201cPrince of New York,\u201d as Lil Tjay was sometimes called.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Between_Life_and_Death\"><\/span>Between Life and Death<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It happened just after midnight on June 22, 2022. Tjay had traveled to Edgewater, New Jersey, and was staying at a hotel. Lil Tjay recalls feeling anxious that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI had a weird feeling all week. My bodyguard had left early because it was a family birthday. I was just hanging out with my friends, but I kept saying something was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His hunch was right. That evening, Tjay and two friends parked his red Dodge Durango near a shopping center. An armed man approached the car, demanding their jewelry and money. An attempt to resist ended in a shooting: the rapper was shot <strong>seven times in the chest<\/strong>. He was airlifted and immediately underwent surgery. Long, painful weeks of recovery followed. Two months later, Tjay made his first public appearance and released the song \u201cBeat the Odds,\u201d in which he directly addresses the incident:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201c\u2018Tjay, why you walking with all these damn pistols?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI just tell &#8217;em that&#8217;s &#8217;cause I don&#8217;t wanna die.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The music video shows scenes from the hospital: Lil Tjay in a gown and a brace rapping into a microphone. Tjay calls the incident the most difficult of his life\u2014an event that forced him to deeply re-evaluate his own existence. At first, he didn&#8217;t even realize the seriousness of the situation. The weeks following the shooting passed in a medicated haze. It was only when the <a href=\"https:\/\/i-bronx.com\/en\/eternal-17291-the-role-of-folk-medicine-in-the-bronx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">medication<\/a> was reduced and his body began to heal that the real realization set in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bronxski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/05\/ad_4nxeccs6xt7ub3ufqgr2hk_ncmpsrni-iwtd3vic7dmgijfeqbwln4uhe9kttakcz2h0cpysswkjjd5at0ejpr1ktgsvtxesb1w3kf4py0str-bpb9rsxjw9bfmexjwp64o2fb5aknwkeyooes5cpub-pgepvjghz-ggbs.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFor a while, it felt like some kind of game,\u201d Lil Tjay says. \u201cAnd then the real PTSD began.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Sacred_Album_%E2%80%98222\"><\/span>The Sacred Album &#8216;222&#8217;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tjay calls his album \u201c222\u201d the deepest and most personal musical work he\u2019s ever created. He says he uses it to share experiences he hadn&#8217;t talked about publicly before. On these tracks, he sounds confident and mature. While the album may not have hits on the level of \u201cCalling My Phone,\u201d it demonstrates an expansion of his creative range. Known for his melodic style, this time, Tjay adds more emotional depth to his sound\u2014which is especially noticeable on the moving track \u201cSomeone Who Cares.\u201d The album landed at <strong>number 24 on the Billboard 200<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The song \u201cJune 22nd\u201d\u2014a direct address to the events surrounding the shooting\u2014conveys the anxiety and inner turmoil the rapper felt in the days leading up to that night. The entire album sounds more refined and cohesive than his previous work: smooth, deliberate, and carefully polished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tjay explains the title \u201c222\u201d as a symbol of change, a reference to a so-called \u201cangel number,\u201d and to the exact time of <strong>2:22 a.m. on June 22, 2022<\/strong>, when he was airlifted from the parking lot. His recovery period was the first break in his career, allowing him to pause and re-evaluate his path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bronxski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/05\/ad_4nxc62rc7wpmx-d5hpyt0q2e2efz9_38etaj2e4by5lgzsaz8uj7l1l8uhgsmrckmpuxypact5oevi8wlbv0k6r_hphsujzf61xeyzesncjlrujt56nsqjxnk5myxmoimpu9dmvkg6akeyooes5cpub-pgepvjghz-ggbs.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The loss of his friend and colleague Pop Smoke in 2020, along with the realization that Tjay himself could have shared his fate, was a shock and a source of gratitude for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI look at everything as a blessing,\u201d he says. \u201cWhen you can just breathe, sit, or think\u2014that\u2019s something.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Style_and_Career_Continuation\"><\/span>Style and Career Continuation<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lil Tjay primarily performs his songs in English, but sometimes uses Spanish, even though he isn&#8217;t fluent. His work is often compared to that of another New York rapper, A Boogie wit da Hoodie. Tjay describes his music as melodic rap, which he uses to re-evaluate his difficult past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Pitchfork review dubbed him \u201cthe heartthrob of <a href=\"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/eternal-1660-dj-kool-herc\">hip-hop<\/a>.\u201d He has also been called the <strong>\u201cBronx\u2019s Justin Bieber\u201d<\/strong> due to his melodic style and appeal to a young, predominantly female fanbase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 2023, after his serious injury, Lil Tjay first appeared on the singles \u201cRich the Kid\u201d and \u201cSleepy Hallow,\u201d which was followed by successful tracks like \u201cI Should\u2019ve Known,\u201d \u201cTold Ya,\u201d \u201cNo No,\u201d \u201cTook a While (Be Us),\u201d and \u201cLegacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In October 2024, Lil Tjay kicked off his \u201cPast 2 Present\u201d European tour, opening with a show at the O2 Arena in London. The tour marked the fifth anniversary of his debut album, \u201cTrue 2 Myself,\u201d and served as a retrospective journey through his entire music career\u2014from his early hits to his latest releases. He was joined on stage by Key Glock, RealestK, and UK guests hand-picked by Tjay himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.bronxski.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/51\/2025\/05\/ad_4nxfdpa8ajkxbscuwq6xkqxol0jq6nkdsxrxt96d5wsr3vpv2jnlvd9c_3gxlorgoz0j8b8hzfpgpkfep5vwsidba9rbfzgj86d39ocbui1yaid2qshsxayr2jb8z7yioferlnu2hsakeyooes5cpub-pgepvjghz-ggbs.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Despite the challenges he\u2019s faced along the way, the 23-year-old artist from the Bronx is confidently looking ahead. In the past five years, he\u2019s earned <strong>nine platinum singles as a lead artist<\/strong>, his hit features with Pop Smoke and Ice Spice have become true anthems for a generation, and his story is a testament to how honesty and talent can pave the way from the streets to global stages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lil Tjay\u2019s story is another example of how the Bronx continues to shape rap culture from within, despite challenging external and internal circumstances. The borough that gave the world hip-hop continues to produce talent that draws inspiration from the streets, their struggles, and their own experiences. From an aggressive teenager who served time in prison, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":398,"featured_media":2583,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[190],"tags":[1681,1683,1642,1657,1645,1675,1677,1646,1659,1679,1678,1682,1658,1680,1676],"motype":[196],"moformat":[76],"moimportance":[],"class_list":["post-3082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-success-stories","tag-222-album","tag-american-hip-hop","tag-bronx-rapper","tag-celebrity-life","tag-hip-hop-2","tag-lil-tjay","tag-melodic-rap","tag-music-biography","tag-nyc-music-scene","tag-pop-smoke","tag-prince-of-new-york","tag-rap-artist","tag-rap-history","tag-tione-jayden-merritt","tag-young-rapper","motype-eternal","moformat-longread-short"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/398"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3082"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3083,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3082\/revisions\/3083"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2583"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3082"},{"taxonomy":"motype","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/motype?post=3082"},{"taxonomy":"moformat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moformat?post=3082"},{"taxonomy":"moimportance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronxski.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/moimportance?post=3082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}