In the video for Lil Tjay’s new song “July 22nd,” the Bronx rapper recounts and dramatizes the events of this day one year ago when he was nearly shot to death during a botched robbery attempt in New Jersey. While this might seem like an odd thing to commemorate, it’s a testament to Tjay’s commitment to the craft that he’s willing to turn what could end up being one of his life’s greatest traumas into creative inspiration.
If you’ve followed the story at all, you should have a pretty good idea of the plot of the video; as Lil Tjay lyrically recalls the day leading up to the shooting, interspersed with scenes of himself recording in the studio and flashbacks to the life-saving surgery that removed seven bullets from his torso and neck and almost ended his rap career. Fortunately for the more squeamish among us, the actual shooting is only suggested in the footage, keeping the proceedings largely bloodless.
Tjay previously addressed the shooting in “Beat The Odds,” his first video released after the incident and later detailed the advice 50 Cent — who was himself shot nine times at the outset of his own rap career — gave him about shaking it off and turning it into a greater drive for success. Of course, it’s clear that he’s still working on doing so; he’s been arrested for gun possession a couple of times this year, likely owing to increased paranoia over the trauma of being shot. Here’s hoping he can exorcise those demons.
Watch the “July 22nd” video above.