Lil Tecca, whose real name is Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He gained widespread recognition and popularity in the music industry at a young age through his viral hit song "Ransom" in 2019.
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Before Lil Tecca achieved viral success with his hit track "Ransom" and gained millions of views and streams, he was a young rapper from New York who utilized the power of the internet and his own personality to build an online following. With just a few tracks available at the time, he had already garnered attention and anticipation from his young fanbase.
Below is a concise account of his life and career prior to fame.
Lil Tecca, born Tyler Sharpe on August 26, 2002, in Springfield Garden, Queens, had Jamaican parents who had moved to New York before his birth. He later relocated to Nassau County, Long Island.
Initially, Lil Tecca's passion for music started as a result of his involvement in gaming. Using an Xbox Live mic, he recorded his first song, a diss track aimed at his friend with a unique head shape, using his sister's laptop and the program Audacity.
Although it was initially intended as a joke, he uploaded the track to SoundCloud, marking the beginning of his online music career. He drew inspiration from artists like Eminem, Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Chief Keef, and Speaker Knockers. He even expressed his desire to collaborate with Chief Keef on a song.
As his musical journey progressed, Lil Tecca found inspiration in artists who incorporated melody into their unique sound, citing Uzi, A Boogie, and Juice WRLD as significant influences. He started freestyling his songs after being impressed by Juice WRLD's approach, leading to a shift in his style.
After releasing a few songs that he considered subpar, he felt that "No More," produced by his friend Prod, was the first song he created that he genuinely believed was good. This track, available on his SoundCloud, gained traction over time, and people began demanding more music from him.
Lil Tecca continued to upload songs on platforms like SoundCloud and Instagram, gradually building a small fan base.
In June 2017, an article on Rap Trends.com identified him as an artist to watch. However, it was his breakout hit "Ransom" and subsequent successes that propelled Lil Tecca to become one of the youngest rising stars in the rap scene, joining the ranks of other teenage rappers like NLE Choppa and Lil Mosey, who are shaping the future of the genre.
During his early days, Lil Tecca's online presence grew slowly, with around 33,000 SoundCloud plays and 1,000 followers. It took some time for him to gain significant attention.
Interestingly, Lil Tecca found himself involved in a brief conflict with the city of Toronto. It began when he came across a music video for the song "No Time" by Toronto artist LB, which had amassed 2 million views on YouTube. Although Lil Tecca claimed not to have liked the song, he found himself captivated by its popularity and would repeatedly watch it.
Later, while searching for beats online with his friends, Lil Tecca stumbled upon one that sounded similar to LB's song. They decided to record a track over it and posted a snippet on Instagram, receiving a generally positive response.
Lil Tecca then created a video for the song and shared it online. However, 6ix Buzz TV posted his video alongside LB's song, which led some people to accuse Lil Tecca of stealing the Toronto artist's style. Surprisingly, the controversy actually brought Lil Tecca more exposure and increased his following.
He responded to the situation by trolling and making jokes on Instagram Live, using Toronto slang to further provoke the rappers who came after him.
While the current status of Lil Tecca's relationship with Toronto remains unclear, the initial tensions seem to have subsided. Although some hate comments from Toronto can still be found on his early videos, things have calmed down.
Lil Tecca continued posting his videos online, actively seeking opportunities to expand his audience through the internet.
His breakthrough moment arrived when renowned director Cole Bennett from Lyrical Lemonade discovered Lil Tecca's music online and reached out to collaborate.
They traveled to the Dominican Republic to shoot the music video for "Ransom," which instantly gained immense popularity due to its unique edits, Lil Tecca's humorous personality, and the inclusion of Dominican strippers.
Despite his success, Lil Tecca remains a student and dedicates his weekends to music. He mentioned that he used to struggle with balancing school and music, often lacking time for the latter.
However, he now seems to have found a better routine. Lil Tecca's classmates initially made jokes about his music aspirations, but they have become more subdued as his success grew.
Looking ahead, he has 81 unreleased songs, having spent nine months continuously in the studio. Lil Tecca doesn't necessarily aim to stand out; he believes that people gravitate towards his authentic self, appreciating his genuine support from real individuals rather than relying on computer-generated popularity.