Lil Tjay released his sophomore studio album Destined 2 Win on Friday (April 2) with guest vocals from Tyga, Saweetie, Toosii, Offset, Moneybagg Yo, and more. As part of his increased press appearances to promote the new project, the Bronx rapper recently appeared on The Breakfast Club to discuss newfound maturity since the Rubi Rose drama, his local rap scene, and more. The teenager also divulged how music kept him out of prison by giving him a reason to stay out of trouble, declaring he “ain’t had nothing to live for” before.
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“I was on the f*ck the world type shit when I was locked up, you know what I’m saying this was at a young age. So I was like, I already knew when I came home it was tunnel vision. Like, I could’ve sworn to anybody I was gonna make it,” he explained.
After being asked about how long his prison stints lasted, he continued, “I mean, I got locked up a couple times, different times like from 3 months to 5, 7 to a year.” Co-host DJ Esco then asked the young rapper, “What was the thing that changed you? Was it your momma crying, was it your music taking off? Was it somebody in the hood you seen?”
“It was the music. It was 100% the music, you know what I’m saying like what was the starting of me not giving a f*ck about other sh*t, you know what I’m saying. Cuz to be honest, the only reason why I was doing the stupid sh*t I was doing was cus I was f*cked up with no guidance and didn’t even have nothing to look forward to in life. I ain’t had nothing to live for,” confessed the “Calling My Phone” artist.
The passionate declaration from the young emcee is enough to push any hip-hop fan to tune into his latest project and explore what the New York rapper is really made of. Check out the full The Breakfast Club episode with Lil Tjay below if you haven’t already.