What up gang. Back with the real you know what’s the deal. When it comes to the Bronx and hip hop, one young cat been placing his stamp on the industry. They call him The Prince of Yew York, Lil Tjay
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That’s not just off music, but his reputation in the streets as well. A young hitter reckless in the streets until the opps left him fighting for his life after putting holes in his chest. Done time behind bars, went to the afterlife and came back even stronger, but the paranoia might be what causes his downfall. Here’s everything you need to know about the life of the Prince of New York. Let’s chop it up and break it down.
Tione Merritt now globally known as the rap star Lil Tjay came up in the grimy streets of South Bronx https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (0:45-0:48)
Tjay was a block baby that always hung out in the trenches while his moms was trying to further herself in college while working a job and pops was out about a bag https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (2:18-2:29) With little supervision to try make ends meet, Tjay drifted further to the streets. From school he’d hit the block and then the trouble started coming as the trenches seeped into his mentality more and more https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (2:29-2:38) By 12, 13years old, Tjay became a big enough menace for the law to try to take him out before his savagery grew out of control. At that age he was already being placed in cuffs for criminal activities https://youtu.be/A4B46Qs1X5I (1:56-2:02) But Tjay would get back to scheming the moment he got out. He wanted to get his bread up and if he had to hit a lick, then a lick was being hit. That escalated the target on his back even larger catching charges like they were paying the bills https://youtu.be/A4B46Qs1X5I (2:20-2:27) Between the ages of 12 to 17, Tjay was in and out of juvenile detention, wasting away his youth https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (7:31-7:38)
But to him, he enjoyed the thrill of the streets, the street cred that came with his growing reputation as a menace to society https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (23:36-23:57) Tjay was inducted into the trenches. His actions for the law were lawless. I’m talking taunting cops, telling officers to give him fellatio, and according to Tjay, the streets know his body count in field https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (22:02-22:11) https://youtu.be/9gRrNISmC7M (3:03-3:07) https://youtu.be/X0PnVVqwfUY (1:21-1:27)
But the prize for playing the game was your life, and Tjay started realizing that his life is rotting away being locked up https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (2:59-24:30) One bid would wake him up to reality. Tjay got locked up for robbery and his experience behind bars wasn’t nothing he wanted to ever go back to again. What’s worse, to this day he says he did time for somn he didn’t do but he held solid and ate the charge https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (6:52-7:15) Tjay later spoke on one of his homies turning rat and snitching on him https://youtu.be/9gRrNISmC7M (3:27-3:53)
Coming home from that last bid, Tjay knew he had to do better, be better. It matured his mind and changed his whole perspective. Being locked up was no longer all fun and games like it was. He didn’t even have the time to process losing his friend Smelly
who was shanked a reported 14 times and passed away in August 2016 after an altercation over a bike he sold to a man by the name of Hector Sanchez
https://bronx.news12.com/arrest-made-in-fatal-stabbing-of-17-year-old-bronx-man-in-fordham-34802028
Sanchez was arrested and charged with the body
Being locked after his friend passed really hit deep and inspired him to double down in stepping away from the buffoonery in the streets to pursue music once he was free https://youtu.be/9gRrNISmC7M (1:18-1:35) https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (7:16-7:27)
The talent was there all along, but when you feel like you got no purpose or anyone to really steer you better, you just end up wilding crashing out. That’s what happened to Tjay https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (7:55-8:03) Since a jit Tjay was spitting, but the problem was clear even then. Bro had his mother’s milk still on his face and dissing the dead and his opps https://youtu.be/-nPZODx5SXk (0:07-0:21) Turns out, Tjay always knew he was going to blow as an artist, but needed time to find his path. He first wanted to sing, but when he was locked, he started blending rapping with his vocals inspired by artists like drake and musicals on channels like Disney https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (3:40-3:58) https://youtu.be/A4B46Qs1X5I (2:34-3:00) https://youtu.be/A4B46Qs1X5I (3:38-3:53)
He went from spitting at a home studio with the homies to recording his first official studio single “Resume” https://youtu.be/A4B46Qs1X5I (0:44-0:47) The track released on SoundCloud went viral and Tjay was up. Today it stands at 45 million plays https://soundcloud.com/liltjay/lil-tjay-resume
https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (13:50-14:12) It was time for Tjay to step his social media game up and his homie came through clutch already having one set up to hand over to bro https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (14:22-14:46) It was all gas from there releasing hits like “Brothers” https://youtu.be/ifZzXeNt3L4 a remix with Lil Durk https://youtu.be/-l3IPy2_1R4 “F.N” https://youtu.be/R9RtTGzs5EE and the Justin Bieber Baby remix “None of Your Love” https://youtu.be/bwxF1XNEf3Q
Tjay was outta there and major labels was salivating at the mouth to finesse a bag
Tjay was dodging em for dear life https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (18:53-19:11) But he was still down bad financially and wanted that major label push. Later on he made the decision to go from independent to major, inking a deal with the big boi Columbia Records https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (6:26-6:39) That’s where he linked up with another rising Columbia artist, Chicago’s own Polo G and they dropped the banger “Pop Out” https://youtu.be/g-uW3I_AtDE
Once the fame him, Tjay went full 100 with his career, dropping out of school and stacking the Ms, but still pushes his education at home https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (8:17-8:35)
Tjay made it, but you know how it goes. With being a street dude comes street beef even after you’ve made it, especially when one foot is still in the trenches. A beef with New York icon A Boogie With Da Hoodie would pop off after everyone started calling Tjay A Boogie clone https://youtu.be/1Q1f8kZqf6A (5:12-5:20)
In every interview it’s like when they looked at Tjay they saw A Boogie https://youtu.be/n_znJNaKDMA (6:32-7:09) https://youtu.be/A4B46Qs1X5I (3:03-3:09) It got to the point where Tjay had to address it on wax https://youtu.be/duhQxI9DD3s (2:00-2:14)
A Boogie would finally chime in, sending shots to everyone copying his style
Lil Tjay took that as a slight to him an ego got the best of bro and he had to return fire with his own response
Tjay was on go time, the street mentality was taking over. Promoting his project “State Of Emergency,” Tjay dubbed himself the King of New York and takes a jab at 6ix9ine and a Boogie when he said “all that other Na Na Na shit”
A Boogie is known to say the phrase in his songs, it’s a part of his style https://youtu.be/rPZgc1RNhaM (2:58-3:13) https://youtu.be/7Dic2hSeMac (0:08-0:19) https://soundcloud.com/user-841004979/a-boogie-wit-da-hoodie-nana (0:29-0:36)
A Boogie Highbride artist and homie Don Q and Trap Manny wasn’t going for the disrespect of his mans and stepped into the chat
From there it was just an all-out back and forth coming at each other, pause https://youtu.be/R3N8ZY0TddE (0:57-1:54) https://youtu.be/pkuOU0vH3mk (0:06-0:30) https://youtu.be/pkuOU0vH3mk (0:31-1:03) The beef got even deeper and you can check out a full breakdown I did in an earlier vid to see what led to A Boogie nem mans to up the pole on Tjay.
Tjay seemed to be at the point where all street rappers reach. They have the fame, finally make it out, but don’t know how to transition and leave the streets behind. Tjay was getting into altercations left and right. He got into it with Toronto rapper and self-proclaimed body snatcher Top5 after failing to check in when in Top5 city https://youtu.be/ZG7qvWaPnKU (0:00-0:17)
This led to Top5 promising that if Tjay came to do a show in New York and went live, he would personally take the burner and murk Tjay. Yes, bro said it on live, classic rapper tactic to be a gentleman and provide evidence for the cops https://youtu.be/CqhvmgiRXVA (6:14-6:37)
Tjay would expose Top5 DM’s of his asking to pay to open for his show for 2 bands and showing mad love behind closed doors
Tjay probably was responding but deleted the messages to just make it look like Top5 was chatting plenty to himself, but still, to be showing that much love and the DMs to going online and doing a 180 is crazy.
Video would surface courtesy Don Q who got a hold of footage showing Tjay being surrounded by a group of goons, rag dolling him on the floor like a pack of hyenas to their prey https://youtu.be/-1TQPNdLsLg (2:41-3:11)
According to Tjay who later broke down what happened, he stood his ground when approached by some random and a group of 10-15 started piling on him, pause, and snatched his chain, but he took it like a champ https://youtu.be/n_znJNaKDMA (0:58-1:57)
The Prince of New York has dudes steady tryna take his crown, but bro wasn’t letting up his spot after overcoming so much trauma and death in the trenches to get there https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (7:13-17:29) Those experiences taught him how to move https://youtu.be/JP8yrBKSGjY (17:30-17:43) but on June 22nd 2022, the opps were moving stealthier and caught him lackin https://youtu.be/rDx_vNemzQM (33:19-31:05) https://youtu.be/ld5ICrvg54o (0:25-0:37)
Tjay was left in critical condition needing emergency surgery after apparently being targeted in a robbery gone wrong. Reports began circulating stating someone pulled up to hit a lick but Tjay wasn’t going for it and ole boy off loaded hitting Tjay multiple times in the chest before he was shot as well.
According to a news release, the Edgewater Police Department received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired in the area of 14 The Promenade in Edgewater, NJ.
Upon their arrival to the area, officers found 21-year-old Tione “Lil TJay” Merritt with multiple gunshot wounds and one of his homies Antoine Boyd with a single gunshot wound at a nearby gas station https://youtu.be/WCX3ITHkR7Q (0:46-0:52)
He was charged with three counts of first-degree attempted murder and a heap of other charges https://youtu.be/ld5ICrvg54o (0:00-0:18)
https://www.bcpo.net/three-men-charged-in-edgewater-nj-shooting/
As if that news wasn’t crazy enough, the shooters past was dug up and exposed to be affiliated with A Boogie’s camp. He’s been in pics and music vids with Boogie before
He was rocking with Boogie in the 2017 music video for Nun Feat. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie “Save Me” (Meek Mill Remix) https://youtu.be/OqIWtr1tGOM (2:48-2:54)
This increased speculation that A Boogie was responsible for greenlighting the attempted hit and it wasn’t just some random botched robbery. Tjay had the fight of the century in his hands, the fight to survive. Grim reports started popping up, Tjay is unconscious and unresponsive, he’s paralyzed for life, it was a time where everyone was at the edge of their seat not knowing what to believe
The Prince of New York said he ain’t going out like that and brought himself back to life showing himself laid up on a hospital bed unable to speak https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GuypViChLAI
One hurdle was over, but he wasn’t out the woods yet, no one knew if he’d fully recover https://youtu.be/9h_rUCKD_hw His wounds were serious, and the pain was intense
Hip hop held its breath, and was finally able to exhale when Tjay dropped his first single “Beat The Odds” to make his return. The song was recorded right on his hospital bed https://youtu.be/OcY-i47Eduo (1:13-1:44)
Tjay popped out at Rolling Loud to show the opps who tried to murk him he’s still here and still The Prince of New York alive and breathing https://youtu.be/BSdBOiewQkE (0:22-0:42) But his demeanor changed, the paranoia and PTSD had him steady clutching a pole. A decision that has been costing him dearly lately. Within the past 10 days, Lil Tjay has not been arrested on gun charges once, but twice. First on January 16th 2023 while on his way to a Ice Spice video shoot https://youtu.be/KPBzsfVS0bo https://youtu.be/_mZI8Geo-IA (0:00-0:37) https://youtu.be/Jydq-FQJsgQ (0:02-1:12) https://youtu.be/nfoqtDN8KUc
Then again on January 26th 2023
This resembles the same scene back in 2020 when he was pulled over and caught lackin with mary jane and 4 poles in the whip https://www.tmz.com/watch/2020-12-27-122720-lil-tjay-4902709/ (1:33-1:50)
https://www.tmz.com/2020/12/31/rapper-lil-tjay-arrested-gun-weed-possession/
Tjay’s lifestyle got him risking it all for safety, but that’s the name of the game.
Yea you want to protect yourself, but get security man, come on, because being in jail unable to enjoy the life you built is just as bad as not being alive. Tjay might be physically back, but mentally, I’m not so sure. Hopefully he doesn’t toss it all away by losing his freedom after beating death.
So there you have it. Thanks for kicking it with yah boy, appreciate the love and support. Catch ya’ll in the next one. Peace up and peace out
Chad is a professional journalist specializing in Hip-Hop culture and writing music reviews.
