Tay-K pictured in "The Race" music video via YouTube, 2017

Artist Spotlight: Tay-K

Rapper Tay-K (a play on the Ak-47 rifle) rose to fame when he released his ultra-viral 2017 hit “The Race,” for which he shot the music video while on the run from the authorities after cutting off his ankle monitor and fleeing house arrest. The rapper himself, along with his music, became an internet sensation due to the extensive lore behind him and his hauntingly alluring music.

The rapper, born Taymore Macintyre, had a rough childhood that exposed him to violence and the street lifestyle at a young age. Born in Long Beach, California, deep in Crip territory, both his parents were affiliated with the gang and often in and out of prison. For a time, Tay-K and his sister were placed in the foster care system, and their father was handed a seven-year prison sentence. However, the children’s mother collected them, moving the family to Arlington, Texas, where their father would eventually join them after completing the sentence.

Fast forward to 2017, the young rapper found himself facing two major charges: the first, from his involvement in a botched robbery in which two people were shot, one fatally (though Tay-K himself was unarmed), landing himself and accomplice PimpyZ, both minors at the time, on strict house arrest.

The teenaged rapper used his time stuck in the house communicating with PimpyZ online and building his presence on social media, particularly Twitter (Now ‘X’), until one day in 2017, the two decided to cut off their ankle monitors and go on the run. - the story behind "The Race."

The two become involved with yet another crime during this time, this time a botched attempt at robbing a photographer that ends with Tay-K allegedly shooting and killing him - the crime that would ultimately allow the police to catch up to the two fugitives.

Up until that point, Tay-K continued to build his online presence, even photographing himself with his own wanted poster, and shooting the video for “The Race.” He dropped the song on his birthday, but did not post the music video until the day after he was caught and taken to jail. He also dropped his #SANTANAWORLD tape, a compilation of of previously recorded songs that he had saved to release when the time was right, that featured additional wildly popular hits such as “Murder She Wrote” and “I <3 My Choppa.”

Though Tay-K was officially behind bars, he had become an internet sensation. His rising popularity online, with users even popularizing the hashtag #FREETAYK, infuriated the judge. The rapper was sentenced to 55 years in what some fans, as well as Macintyre himself, claim was an attempt to make an example out of him. The video and lyrics to “The Race” were used against Macintyre in court, and seen as evidence for a lack of remorse.

But the young rapper had already cemented himself in "the culture," his discography a haunting reminder of the harrowing story. #SANTANAWORLD captivated listeners; Tay-K's witty lyricism leaving an impression on listeners, and his eerie threats and references to the "jugging" (coming up on a lick through nefarious means) lifestyle - not to mention the way he spoke about women - juxtaposing his young voice.

One could say Tay-K's appeal lay mainly in the shock factor and sensationalism, but he also just made sonically, lyrically, and thematically compelling music that is still being referenced to this day; something that makes you wonder what kind of future he would have had were he not so deep in that lifestyle.

That's another reason Tay-K remained in conversation. The whole situation seemed to open up room for dialogue about these cycles of violence (primarily on Twitter, but the conversation has certainly been rehashed a number of times on other platforms), especially considering the political climate of the time. Donald Trump had just become president, #BlackLivesMatter was a trending topic, and Twitter was a key space for debate around topics such as structural racism and mass incarceration.

On Dec. 25th, 2023, Tay-K himself tweeted: “I bet if I was a lil white kid they wouldn’t have gave me no 55 years for a crime I was alleged to play the least significant role in when I was 16…they woulda rightfully argued my mind wasn’t fully developed and gave me rehabilitation and a 2nd(1st) chance at adulthood.”

This additional context is by no means an attempt to sanitize any of the events Tay-K involved himself in, but rather to tell the story of how the rapper became something bigger than himself, all from behind bars, and what that means in the bigger picture.

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