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Who is Tay-K? ‘The Race’ rapper locked up on two murder charges

Arlington, Texas rapper Tay-K has officially signed a record deal with 88 Classic and re-released his EP #SantanaWorld with additional mastering and remixes featuring 21 Savage, Young Nudy, and Maxo Kream.

This summer, Tay-K captivated the hip-hop world with the release of the infectious “The Race”.

“The Race” was not your standard viral rap song, it was recorded while Tay-K was on the run from federal authorities for a slew of legal charges including capital murder.

The video opens with a baby-faced Tay-K (he turned 17 in June) smoking a blunt next to a wanted poster of his own face.

In an apparent stroke of marketing genius (“The Race” has almost 100 million views on YouTube), Tay-K and his team dropped “The Race” video on the same day the rapper was arrested by United States marshals in New Jersey.

Tay-K had previously been on house arrest for capital murder charges stemming from an alleged violent incident during a home invasion. While awaiting a decision on whether he would be charged as an adult, Tay-K tweeted “fuck dis house arrest shit fuck 12 they gn hav 2 catch me on hood,” cut his ankle bracelet, and thus began the race.

“The Race” is a fascinating study in the fine line between entertainment and real life. While it’s not rare for a young rapper to go viral after the release of a raw, captivating song documenting their violent environment (Chief Keef’s “Don’t Like” comes to mind) Tay-K’s “The Race” is an especially, if not terrifyingly, real song.

Soon everyone from Lil Yachty to Tyga to Adrien Broner was remixing “The Race” as Tay-K was getting cosigns and messages of support from Travis Scott, Meek Mill, and Kodak Black.

#kodakblack wants to sign #tayk 😮 #therace

A post shared by Kollege Kidd (@kollegekidd) on

Tay-K spoke to Desiigner from jail.

#tayk speaks with #desiigner from jail 😮 #therace

A post shared by Kollege Kidd (@kollegekidd) on

As for Tay-K’s legal case, an additional murder charge has been added to his rap sheet for an alleged incident at a Chik-Fil-A while he was on the run from authorities.

https://twitter.com/ilooklikelilbil/status/940987639179522048

There was a brief internet rumor that Tay-K had been freed earlier this week, but that is not the case.

https://twitter.com/IamAkademiks/status/941351612592873473

This is just one of those truth is stranger than fiction situations.

As Tay-K awaits trial for two capital murder charges, he’s got a record deal waiting for him if he does manage to prove his innocence.

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