Before Lil Tjay would become one of the hottest new artists out of New York dropping tracks
like the Justin Bieber sampled None of Your Love, which has over 14 million streams on
Soundcloud, Resume which has over 15 mill, and Brothers which has over 21 million views
on YouTube
Before he would get cosigns from Famous Dex, Roddy Rich, Desiigner and collab with YNW
Melly and more.
Before he would have close to 150k followers on Soundcloud, close to 200k subscribers on
YouTube and almost 550k followers on Instagram at the time of this recording
Lil Tjay has had a monumentally fast rise to fame, but unlike a lot of people in the
new era, it wasn’t through antics and it wasn’t through a label push, it was just
through great music and talent alone. At only 17 years old, the kid has accomplished more
than most people have in their entire lives. After serving a year long stint in juvenile
detention, he decided to take music seriously and well after that, a lot happened.
What’s up good people out there in the world? I hope you’re having one Hecht of a day.
Good morning afternoon, or evening, depending on when you’re watching this. My name is
Jeremy Hecht aka I don’t thechts back… One of these days I’m gonna come with a
killer pun and you’ll be left speechless but for now, here we are on before they were
famous and today I’ll be taking you through the life and career of Lil TJay prior to fame.
I’ve covered other newcomers like YNW Melly and Comethazine so be sure to check those out
after you finish watching this one if you like it. And as always be sure
to let us know in the comments down below who we should cover next, Without anymore talking though, let’s get into it.
LilTjay was born Tione Merritt on 183rd street in South Bronx, New York on April 30, 2001.
He grew up with his mother and two siblings in an apartment in the Bronx and when he was
still young, his mom went back to college to get her degree. He told Pitchfork that
he was the problem child, always getting into fights and committing petty robberies in middle
school. But he always managed to get all of his school work done. At home he was well
behaved, never even so much as cursing in front of his mother, but when he would step
outside it was blunts and of course some cursing with his friends on the block.
He told Rolling Stone that his neighborhood was very diverse, and he even learned some
Spanish from his friends.
He grew up listening to people like Meek, Rihanna, Rick Ross and Drake and he actually
met Meek recently who told Tjay he was a fan of his music.
But the Justin Bieber sample on his record None of Your Love wasn’t random. He told
Pitchfork that he used to watch Justin Bieber videos and think to himself “damn, this
is going to be me.” He says he would watch TV seeing the way that artists live and he
would envision himself on that stage. He always felt like he was meant for something bigger
than himself.
It was artists like Bieber, MJ and Usher that would later inspire him to sing. He was even
nicknamed the “Bronx Bieber” on Facebook when he first started making music. That’s
kind of a hard nickname actually.
He says he was also inspired by the kids on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, watching shows
like iCarly and Victorious all the time. He told Pitchfork:
“Yeah. I’m not going to lie, I was really into some childish s***. I got friends that
were watching Disney, but they would never tell you. Ariana Grande, that’s my wife!
[from the show Victorious] The street sh*t felt forced upon me. The real me was at home
watching all of that s***.”
I’m with you 100% bro. TJ, I still go on record saying that High School musical is
the greatest trilogy of all time… I even got to live out my lifelong dream of being
Troy Bolton this year for Halloween. Shout out to my Gabriella. But before I get any
weirder let’s get back to TJay…
In 2016, when Tjay was 15, he served close to a year in a youth detention center for
a robbery case that he doesn’t like to talk about publicly. In jail he played a lot of
spades, but it was also behind bars that he started writing some of his most heartfelt
and personal songs. He would sing those songs to other people in jail, even rapping some of them
for the correctional officers, and everyone had a positive response, recognizing that
he had something special. He had two notebooks full of verses from his time behind bars that
would later become some of his most successful tracks. He told Rolling Stone in one of his
only interviews so far:
“It’s nothing that I would want to do again, but I learned a lot from it. I feel
like if I wasn’t to go to jail, I probably wouldn’t be the person I am. Cause I wouldn’t
have sat down and wrote those songs and I never would’ve been able to focus on what
I want to accomplish.”
He also says that he doesn’t want anyone who looks up to him to focus on that part
of his life. Unlike many people who shy away from the title, he wants to be a role model.
He always wanted to have kids look up to him and now that he has that influence, he wants
to make sure he uses it right. He even encourages his fans to stay in school and focus on the
important things.
Even though he recognized that he wanted to create change for himself in a positive way, when he
first got let out, he was still caught up in his old ways and not focusing on anything
productive. He was occasionally recording songs on his laptop that he describes as a
more traditional rapping style, but he wasn’t taking it too seriously yet.
But it wasn’t until he stepped into a recording studio for the first time that he was able
to realize a new direction for his music and his life.
The first song he ever released was called “Don’t Gotta Explain” with Lil Tut.
But the first song he recorded in his first ever studio session was “Resume.” The
song was much different than the verse driven bars he had previously recorded on his laptop.
When he got into the studio, he was inspired by memories of singing Usher and Michael Jackson
as a kid with his mom. And in the heat of the moment, he decided to sing the lyrics
he had written down instead of spitting them. And when he played Resume for all of his friends and they
all kept telling him: You have to drop that officially online.
He did drop the song in 2017 and off of reposts alone, it got close to 5k listens within a
day.
Everybody I knew posted it at one time, and then just I guess other people from different
places started reposting it and they actually listened to it and then it started to go crazy.”
Eventually, it blew up… garnering over 14 million streams. Crazy because for most people,
the first song they record in a studio is not a massive hit to that degree. But then
again, most people don't ever get 10+ million streams on any of the songs they
record.
Like he says on his new song Leaked “man I just came home now everybody knows me.”
He kept posting songs online but made sure he waited until each previous release would flatline
in terms of growth and views, then he would drop another banger.
Record labels started calling after seeing his first few drops do massive numbers online
and reaching the top of the soundcloud charts. On his song Goat he says “independent but
I could have got signed.” Initially he was showing up to label meetings with no one but
his teenage friends, which was exciting but also overwhelming for the kid, which I can
understand.
But it was his song Brother that became even bigger for TJay, with the audio alone gaining
over 22 million streams on soundcloud and the visuals sitting at around the same amount
of views on YouTube at the time of recording.
When speaking about the song to Rolling Stone, he says:
“I know how to hide my emotions. I can say what’s going on and not make you want to
feel down. A lot of time I like to sing music that people can relate to, but not necessarily
put them in a depressed mood. In ‘Brothers’ I’m saying, ‘Bodies drop all the time,
I don’t feel nothing.’ Basically I’m trying to say I’m bringing the struggle
into a more of joyful, melodic sound.”
Speaking of his sound, it has often been compared to fellow New Yorker, A Boogie, whose melodic
driven verses without sacrificing his bars has become a staple sound in the newer generation
of rap. And although TJay doesn’t mind the comparison, he feels like he’s beginning
to craft his own sound. In terms of today’s rap, he doesn’t relate to the drug heavy
use rap. He’s more focused on longevity. And hearing him speak, the kid is very grounded
and I actually have a feeling that he’ll be around for a long time in this game.
Once music started getting to a level where he was popular online, it was hard for him
to attend school normally. Remember, he was 16 when he started to blow up. I remember
I put out a couple songs at 16 that had a few thousand plays online and I felt like
the man, but I can only imagine if you have 20 million hits. There’s no way you’d
be able to walk around like it’s nothing.
But TJay says that he is doing homeschooling to finish his degree because it’s really
important to him to show his younger fans that he is staying on the right path.
Early on, he had cosigns from Lil Durk and Famous Dex who reached out through Instagram.
And eventually, he knew a label could take him to next level, so after initially declining, he ended up hiring a lawyer.
going to label meetings, and signing a deal with Columbia records.
In December of 2018 he dropped his first EP, No Comparison, which included Ready for War
feat. YNW Melly and Bad To The Bone, which now has over 1.3 million views.
It’s time for the part of these videos that I do solely for our female viewers. It’s
shoot your shot with Lil TJay? What are your chances at dating the man behind the hit songs?
Although he sings about women a lot, he has never had an official relationship. But says
that now, he’s looking for someone who he can rely on and wants someone who is really
going to love him for who he is as a person, and not just for the clout and the success of his rap moniker.
So ladies if you’e watching, shoot your shot in his DMs. He seems like an emotionally
aware guy and says he only writes about what he’s feeling. But just remember, he is only
17 at the time of this recording so if you’re looking not to get yourselves in trouble,
you gotta wait at least a year. Back to the video.
He told XXL that one of his standout moments in his career so far was
" performin' in front of a crowd—I don't know, how many people—at the Wells Fargo
Center [in Philadelphia]. It was great. I like the response I got from the crowd. Industry
was there. It was lit. It was a good experience."
The Wells Fargo center holds 19,500 people so that had to have been surreal.
As for what’s next, TJay says he will still be very selective with his releases saying:
“If I don’t feel like it’s a hit then I don’t feel like dropping it. I won’t
drop an album until it’s perfect. A lot of albums got two or three singles but the
rest is caca. I want every song on it to be a hit. My whole life I wanted something more—I
didn’t get here just to be broke at 28. I have plans: vocal lessons, dance lessons,
on some Usher shit.”
He’s been in the studio with LA’s own Roddy Rich
And been seen with Famous Dex, Desiigner, and Jay Critch.
And many more artists recently, so I’m sure we have plenty of new music to look forward
to from TJay
He also says another Justin Bieber sample could be in the works, but this time he wants
to cover “One Less Lonely Girl” which in my humble opinion is one of the most underrated
tracks of all time.
His rise to fame was pretty fast so there isn’t a crazy long story about his rise
to fame. The guy made good music and people recognized it early. As for the rest of the
story, well you know it because this is Before They Were Famous! As always, I’m Jeremy Hecht for Famous News, be sure
to subscribe to the channel, turn your post notifications on so you don't miss
a single video. Hit me up on Instagram or Twitter @Jeremy_Hecht
let me know who to cover next on this channel.
Or leave a comment below
Dream Good, Live Better, I hope you have one hecht of a day and I’ll see you in the next
video.