Tay-K may have been in jail for nearly six years on a murder charge, but his breakout hit “The Race” hasn’t slowed its momentum on streaming services one bit.
In a tweet on Thursday (March 23), STRAPPED US confirmed that the 2017 viral track had officially surpassed one billion streams.
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“Tay-K’s classic song ‘The Race’ has now surpassed 1B streams,” the post read, along with a clip from the music video.
You can view the post below:
Tay-K’s classic song “The Race” has now surpassed 1B streams 💿🎉pic.twitter.com/KziK8TTUDd
— STRAPPED! | Hip-Hop/Rap News (@STRAPPEDUS) March 23, 2023
Tay-K recorded and released “The Race” while he was on the run from police after escaping house arrest before his capital murder trial. He was eventually apprehended later in the year.
“The Race” hit No. 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was later remixed by 21 Savage and Young Nudy. The song, which contains lyrics like: “Pop a n-gga then I go out my way,” was used as evidence in his eventual trial in 2019.
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Tay-K (real name Taymor Travon McIntyre) was found guilty of murder in July 2019 for his role in the 2016 Texas home invasion that killed 21-year-old Ethan Walker.
He was sentenced to 55 years for the murder charge, 30 years for aggravated robbery and given two additional 13-year prison sentences on two other counts of aggravated robbery. The sentences are being served concurrently.
Earlier this year, Tay-K took to social media to ask for a “second chance at adulthood,” claiming race was a factor behind his lengthy sentence. The 22-year-old argued that he should have been tried as a juvenile instead of an adult and claimed if he was white his punishment wouldn’t have been as severe.
Tay pointed to one of his co-defendants, a white girl who was also 16 at the time, who he claimed was given 10 years probation and has since been released from prison.
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“I really just need 1 chance @ adulthood,” he wrote. “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 most insignificant role in when I was 16….they woulda rightfully argued that my mind wasn’t fully developed and gave me rehabilitation and a 2nd (1st) chance at adulthood.”
He added: “one of my codefendants was a white girl who was 16 jus like me…they didn’t certify her as an adult but they certified me n pimp as adults, pimp got 30, I got 55, she ended up getting 10 years of probation without no deal…that girl @ home rn.”
