Tione Jayden Merritt[needs IPA](born April 30, 2001), known professionally asLil Tjay(/ˈtiːdʒeɪ/TEE-jay),[1]is an American rapper. He rose to prominence with his 2017 single "Resume", and signed withColumbia Recordsfollowing the success of his 2018 single "Brothers", which receivedtriple platinumcertification by theRecording Industry Association of America(RIAA). His guest appearance onPolo G's 2019 single, "Pop Out" marked his first entry on theBillboardHot 100—peaking at number 11—while his own single, "F.N" became his first to do so as a lead artist. Each preceded the release of his debut studio album,True 2 Myself(2019), which peaked at number five on theBillboard 200.
His second studio album, Destined 2 Win (2021) was supported by the single "Calling My Phone" (with 6lack), which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. His 2023 song "Gangsta Boo" (with Ice Spice) likewise entered the chart, and his third studio album, 222, was released in July of that year.[2]
Merritt was born and raised in the Fordhamneighborhood of the Bronx, New York City.[1] He was raised by a single mother and has two younger siblings in what was described as a "roomy" apartment. Merritt called himself the problematic child of the three children, as he would often get himself into petty robberies and school fights. At the age of 15, Merritt was arrested for a robbery, and sentenced to a year at the youth detention center, where he would begin to write raps; they included one of his hit songs "Resume", which he released on SoundCloud.[3]
Merritt's childhood friend, Smelly, was fatally stabbed in August 2016. Merritt pays tribute to his childhood friend in a number of his songs; referencing his name, "Smelly".[4]
In 2017, Merritt began releasing music on SoundCloud.[3] "Resume", one of his first songs, was released when Merritt was 16 years old, and quickly began spreading online.
On March 10, 2018, Merritt competed and placed first at the NYC All Ages Edition of Coast 2 Coast LIVE, where his performance gained the attention of a record label A&R who was in attendance to judge the showcase.[5] Soon after, Merritt released the single "Brothers", which became his biggest song at the time and led to him signing with Columbia Records.[6]
Within the first ten months of Merritt's music career, he had released five tracks that recorded over one million plays on SoundCloud.[8][9]"Brothers", "Resume", "Goat", and "Leaked" each accumulated tens of millions of streams.[10] In July 2018, Merritt worked with producer CashMoneyAP to release "None of Your Love", which also amassed tens of millions of plays.[8]Merritt released his debut EP No Comparison at the end of 2018.[9]
In January 2019, Merritt was featured on fellow rapper Polo G's single "Pop Out", which peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] In July, he was featured on boy band PrettyMuch's "Lying".[12] Later that year, he released an EP titled F.N; the project's lead single, "F.N", peaked at number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his first solo charting song. Merritt released his debut album True 2 Myself on October 11, 2019. It debuted and peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard 200. In December, he was featured on a remix of 24kGoldn's song "Valentino".[13]
In early 2020, Merritt reached the Billboard Hot 100 again with his single "20/20", which peaked at number 94 on the chart. On May 8, 2020, Merritt released the EP State of Emergency, which focused heavily on drill music, a popular subgenre in New York City.[14] The seven-song EP included the track "Zoo York" (featuring Fivio Foreign and Pop Smoke), which peaked at number 65 on the Hot 100.[15] In July, Merritt appeared on Pop Smoke's debut posthumous album, Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, on the track "Mood Swings", which reached number 17 on the Billboard Hot 100.[16] On August 11, Merritt was included on XXL's 2020 Freshman Class.[17] In October, Merritt hinted at a new project on Twitter.[18]
On February 12, 2021, Merritt released his single "Calling My Phone", a collaboration with Atlantasinger 6lack, which was accompanied by a music video directed by Cam Busby.[19] The song debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting single of Merritt's career.[2] On March 19, Merritt released "Headshot", a collaboration with Polo G and Fivio Foreign as the second single from his second studio album, Destined 2 Win, which was released on April 2, 2021. The album consists of twenty-one tracks.[20] On October 22, Merritt released the lead single to his upcoming third studio album "Not in the Mood" (featuring Fivio Foreign and Kay Flock). The single was teased in snippets using TikTok from September prior to its release.[21]
In early March 2022, Merritt began teasing a new song titled "In My Head" which uses a sample of Iyaz's "Replay". It was eventually released on April 1, 2022.[22] On April, Merritt released a freestyle "Lavish" on his YouTube channel. The following day, he announced his EP Strictly 4 My Fans.[23]On August 26, Merritt released his single "Beat the Odds", which details his near-fatal shooting and an update on his recovery.[24] On November 17, Merritt teased a trailer for his single "Give You What You Want", which was released the same day at 4 p.m. on YouTube.[25]
In late June 2023, Merritt revealed on social media that a new album was on the way[26] and released its lead singles "June 22nd" on June 23,[27] which that he revealed the album's title 222on Instagram, and "Project Walls" featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again on July 7,[28] on which he also revealed the album's cover and tracklist with features from Summer Walker, The Kid LAROI, Fivio Foreign, Jadakiss, Polo G and Coco Jones. Before the album's release, Merritt released short documentaries on his social media and performed "Bla Bla" with Fivio Foreign at Wireless Festival 2023. 222 was released on July 14, 2023. 222 sold 22k in its first week.
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