Tion Dalyan Merritt is an American rapper who is known to the general public as Lil Tjay. The artist gained popularity after recording the song Pop Out with Polo G. The presented track took 11th position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
The compositions of Resume and the Brothers finally secured the status of the best artist of the last few years for Lil TJ. The Brothers track has over 44,4 million plays on SoundCloud, thanks to which the rapper is signed to Columbia Records.
Childhood and youth of Tion Dalyan Merritt
Tion Dalyan Merritt was born on April 30, 2001 in the Bronx (USA). The childhood of a black guy definitely cannot be called happy. He grew up in a poor family, and the place where Tion spent his youth contributed to the presence of a criminal past in his biography.
The rapper grew up in the South Bronx and describes his neighborhood as "diverse". Citizens of various nationalities lived there. As a result, Tion mastered several languages at once. In particular, he spoke excellent Spanish.
It is known that the guy was brought up in a large family. When Tion was a child, his father left the family. All the burdens fell on the shoulders of the mother. When he was a teenager, the guy realized how hard it was for his mother. In search of a job, Tion turned onto a criminal path.
In 2016, at age 15, he received his first term. The guy was sentenced to 12 months in a youth detention center. Lil spent this year to his advantage. He got into writing musical compositions. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the rapper said:
“When I got out of prison, I saw my friends make the same mistakes that I made. After leaving the isolation ward, I clearly realized that I wanted to make money with music. I realized that there is no reason to do business in the area and engage in crime. I see the motivation that comes from this. A lot of people look at me like, “Damn, this is the solution…”
At the end of 2017, Lil Tjay promised his family that he would never engage in crime. Before recording songs in a professional studio, the artist made several tracks on gadgets. Used bars that are meant to work hip-hop. This is where the path of rapper Lil Tjay began.
Lil Tjay's musical style
When the artist is asked about the artists who influenced the formation of his style, he replies that his passion for hip-hop began with the "rubbing" of the songs of the singers Drake and Meek Mill.
The rapper's musical style is an offshoot of another Bronx native, Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. The peak of popularity was in 2016. The success of the artist symbolizes how fast rap is developing today and how the style of young artists influences this. Where Boogie takes on the role of a rejected lover, Tjay works in a less defined emotional space.
Tjay is constantly experimenting with sound. For example, on the song None of Your Love, he interpolates Justin Bieber's 2010 hit Baby. The rapper was even accused of trying to plagiarize. When asked by journalists, Lil shrugged his shoulders, answering: “I just went into a recording studio and wanted to convey the written text by singing, not by reading ...”.
The rapper's style is often compared to A Boogie wit da Hoodie. And it's well deserved. He reads for "brothers", sings for the fairer sex and skillfully adapts to the requirements of radio stations. Journalists call Leela the universal soldier of the modern mainstream.
The creative path of Lil T.J.
In 2017, the American rapper posts his debut tracks on SoundCloud. Including the famous tracks Resume and Brothers got there.
The musical composition Resume was released when the singer was still 16 years old. The presentation of the track was accompanied by a video featuring Lil TJ.
A year later, Tjay competed and took an honorable 1st place at Coast 2 Coast LIVE NYC All Ages Edition. Subsequently, the rapper's performance attracted major label A&R.
The artist was lucky enough to sign a contract with Columbia Records after the label noticed his track Brothers. The presented track is filled with pain. In the song, Lil raps about death, imprisonment, and depression.
Lil Tjay presented five musical compositions to fans of his work during the year. In total, the songs scored millions of plays on the SoundCloud platform.
The song Resume gained over 14 million views in just 12 months. The track Brothers collected 44,4 million plays on SoundCloud. Other famous hits of that time include the tracks Goat and Leaked.
lil tjay today
Since 2018, Lil Tjay has been seen collaborating with producer Cash Money AP on the track None of Your Love. The composition gained over 20 million views in less than a year. The song was very warmly received by fans and music critics.
In the same year, Lil Tjay's discography was replenished with a mini-album. We are talking about the collection No Comparison. The record included one track, which was recorded by YNW Melly, a 19-year-old rapper from Gifford. He started gaining popularity around the same time period as Lil TJ. The joint composition of rappers Ready for War became the most successful from the No Comparison mini-compilation.
A year later, Lil Tjay appeared on the single Polo G. The rappers recorded a joint composition, which was called Pop Out. Later, the musicians also posted a video clip on YouTube, which gained over 80 million views.
In 2019, the artist's discography was replenished with a full-fledged studio album True 2 Myself. The album contains 17 tracks in total. True 2 Myself debuted at number 5 on the US Billboard 200. In the first week of sales, 45 thousand copies of the collection were sold out. For the first week, Lil Tjay's album entered the US top 10.
In 2020, Lil Tjay became a freshman on the annual XXL list. In addition, the rapper announced that a new album will be presented soon. Lil did not disappoint the expectations of fans of his work.
State of Emergency album release
The new mixtape is called State of Emergency. The collection featured the late Pop Smoke and drill star Fivio Foreign. The album consists of 7 tracks. In general, the record received positive reviews from music lovers.
One of the best tracks on the record was the track Zoo York, produced by AXL Beats. The mentioned song featured Fivio Foreign and Pop Smoke. Critics noted that in the album the artist plunged into the Brooklyn drill, moving away from the usual trap sound.
In celebration of the release of the new album, the singer will perform new songs during a live broadcast on Twitch. During the performance, Lil will travel around New York.
The latest news from the life of the singer can be found on his Instagram. About 4 million users have subscribed to the rapper's page.
Lil Tjay in 2021
At the beginning of 2021, the album of the American rapper was released. The record was called Destined 2 Win. Critics warmly accepted the singer's new LP and focused on the fact that it should definitely be listened to by those who appreciate melodiousness. Recall that this is the second studio album by Lil Tjay.
