Album Review: Lil TJay – True 2 Myself

If you can get past Lil TJay’s sounding like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, what you will realise is that the 17-year old is a pretty solid musician. Not only does he bridge the gap between R&B singer and gritty rapper really well, but lyrically, he has an ability to come across as riveting.

In ‘True 2 Myself,’ Lil TJay stays true to the streets as much as he can. Despite singing, he tells horrifying tales of shootouts, crooked friends, and sex moves more. In other words, TJay comes across as grown, which in my opinion, makes him very easy to listen to.

I wasn’t quite impressed with Lil TJay’s rap mechanics in ‘True 2 Myself’, but I WAS impressed with his ability to create infectious melodies and sing fearlessly. I can tell the South Bronx rapper wanted to get listeners to feel his words instead of hearing them on this album, which I believe is the only reason someone with two working ears would want to hear it from start to finish.

I’m not going to lie, I think artists are starting to overdo the singing on their tracks. I get it, some people are actually talented at making infectious melodies, but if those melodies aren’t backed up by well-written lyrics, it will get annoying really quick. With that being said, kudos to Lil TJay for making it semi-big in the music industry by singing, but this ‘True 2 Myself’ album didn’t get me hooked. Not only did songs start to sound the same, but his street tales began to feel forced. I do believe TJay has a bright future, though, he just needs to start tapping into his creative side a little more.