On Wednesday, June 22, it was reported that rising New York rapper Lil Tjay had to get surgery after being shot in an attempted robbery in Edgewater, New Jersey. Tjay was shot along with a second, as-yet-unidentified victim who was hit multiple times. The “Calling My Phone” rapper was coming off a string of collaborations including “24 Hrs” with Kaash Paige and “Bag Season” with French Montana, and was looking forwward to a “good summer” according to a post on his Twitter previewing new music. So far, three arrests have been made, while Tjay remains hospitalized but in stable condition.
Another New York rapper, whose career has been on an opposite trajectory of late, chimed in with an unsurprising reaction to the news. Tekashi 69, the troll-ish Brooklyn rapper who went from dominating the city’s brash street scene to being branded a snitch after testifying against some of his gangbanging cronies, responded in the comments of an Instagram post about the shooting with a pair of crying emojis — one laughing, one sobbing. While reprehensible, his response isn’t exactly a shock; 6ix9ine has always been known for mocking other rappers’ misfortunes, including taunting King Von’s friends after the Chicago rapper’s death and trolling Young Thug after his recent racketeering arrest — the same charges Tekashi himself narrowly dodged by testifying.
6ix9ine weird asf for this. Pray for Lil Tjay pic.twitter.com/Hd9ckxEASC
— Corn (@luhbIix) June 22, 2022
Considering Tekashi very recently begged for consideration regarding his impending bankruptcy, you’d think he would for once show a little empathy and humility. But that isn’t what got him the spotlight and it doesn’t seem he’s ever going to shake off that strategy — even if the only thing it’s earning him is socks to the noggin.