Lil Tjay

Lil Tjay is the stage name of American rapper and songwriter Tione Jayden Merritt. Born on April 30 2001, he grew up in The Bronx and started writing his own material after spending a year at a youth detention center. Lil Tjay started uploading songs to his streaming channel in 2017 and quickly amassed tens of millions of plays on tracks like “Resume,” “Brothers,” “Goat,” and “Leaked.” In 2018, his triumph at the Coast 2 Coast Live NYC All Ages Edition artist showcase caught the attention of Columbia Records, who swiftly signed him to their roster and released his No Comparison EP later that year. After showing up on Polo G’s “Pop Out” and PrettyMuch’s “Lying,” he dropped a second EP titled F.N in 2019, which peaked at Number 56 on the Billboard Hot 100. His proper studio debut True 2 Myself hit the shelves in October 2019 and reached Number 5 on the Billboard 200. Lil Tjay followed up with the drill EP State of Emergency in 2020 and then released Destined 2 Win in 2021. Preceded by the Top 5 single “Calling My Phone,” the album was not only a domestic blockbuster but also reached Number 7 in the UK. It also featured appearances by 6lack, Offset, and Moneybagg Yo.