The conviction has dogged him throughout his rise following the surprise success of his song “Gummo,” which introduced his rainbow-haired, face-tatted, scream-rapping persona to the world. New York’s 6ix9ine, also known as Tekashi69, was convicted of using a child in a sexual performance in 2015. Other criminals-turned-rappers have had varying levels of success. “The Race,” meanwhile, hit 44 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the day of the song’s release, McIntyre was finally caught after allegedly committing another murder in a San Antonio Chic-Fil-A, and he is currently awaiting trial. “Fuck a beat, I was tryna beat a case,” the song’s hook goes over dinky, bass-heavy production, “but I didn’t beat that case, bitch I did the race.” After being arrested and charged along with six others for the murder of one Ethan Miller in Mansfield, Texas, Tay-K, whose real name is Taymor McIntyre, skipped bail and recorded his hit song “The Race” while on the run. Now, it seems that outlaw lifestyle is catching up to them.Īrguably, the recent spate of outlaw rappers began with Tay-K, a teenager from Texas.
Like the gunslingers of yore, many of these so-called “SoundCloud rappers” earned their notoriety through crime, gaining an aura of dangerous cool by breaking the law or engaging in dangerous behavior. In the last two years, dozens of young hip-hop talents with wild clothes and even wilder hair have risen through massive success on SoundCloud and other social media platforms. It is 2018, and we are living through the Wild West of rap music.