Lil Tjay, a New York drill rapper, has reportedly been shot several times and is currently undergoing emergency surgery.
According to a press release from the Begen County Prosecutor’s Office (BCPO), at 12:08 a.m., police responded to a call about a shooting at 14 The Promenade in Edgewater, New Jersey. When police arrived, they discovered a 22-year-old victim with “multiple gunshot wounds.”
Who shot Lil Tjay?
Three men are in connection with Lil Tjay’s shooting, one of whom police believe was the shooter. According to police, the rapper was the victim of a claimed attempted robbery.
The Prosecutor’s Office in New Jersey issued a statement revealing that 27-year-old Mohamed Konate had been arrested and charged as the primary suspect in Lil Tjay’s shooting.
Konate, reported with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault and robbery, and various other weapons offenses.
A second person with a gunshot wound was discovered at the Exxon station. Antoine Boyd, 22, with a solitary gunshot wound.
Rapper Lil Tjay: an Overview of His Life
Tione Jayden Merritt (born April 30, 2001) is an American rapper, singer, and lyricist better known as Lil Tjay. He came to popularity in 2018 with his music “Resume,” and later that year signed to Columbia Records.
Interestingly, the first letter of his first name and the first three letters of his middle name are combined to form his stage name.
Notable work of Lil Tjay
- True 2 Myself, Lil Tjay’s debut album, was launched in 2019.
- In the succeeding year, he released the mixtape State of Emergency, which featured only New York City drill artists.
- True 2 Myself debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, making it his first charted album.
- Destined 2 Win, his second studio album, was released in 2021 and featured the single “Calling My Phone.”
After learning that Lil Tjay got shot in New Jersey on Wednesday, people on social media offered their prayers and support.
French Montana, another rapper, stated, “pray for my lil bro Lil Tjay,” with a prayer hand emoji.
Why are rappers under the radar?
In the last 30 years, 87 rappers have lost their lives in a shooting. An average of two annually and sometimes even more from that.
A few of those murders reach their justice. Many are still under inquiry, which means that more than 50 rappers’ lives have ended prematurely. The police have never answered their murders. In context, the clearance rate for murder in the United States is 54.4 percent in 2020.
There is clearly a disparity between the national murder “clearance rate” and the one that arises when a hip-hop artist is involved.
It’s especially shocking when you consider how high-profile some of these cases are; for instance, the killings of Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G., and Big L are all unsolved cases. Even though each of the killings happened more than a decade ago.
It tends to result in insinuations and backlash against a genre of music that is still growing in popularity.