Tyler-Justin Sharpe

Lil Tecca
Lil Tecca performing in 2019
Lil Tecca performing in 2019
Background information
Birth nameTyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe
Born (2002-08-26) August 26, 2002 (age 21)
Queens, New York City, U.S.
OriginSpringfield Gardens, New York, U.S.
EducationLawrence High School
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active2017–present
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata

Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe (born August 26, 2002), known professionally as Lil Tecca, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter.[1] He rose to mainstream fame with the release of his 2019 single "Ransom", which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2][3] The single was included on his debut mixtape We Love You Tecca (2019), which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200[4] and contained the follow-up singles "Love Me" and "Did It Again".[5] His debut album, Virgo World (2020) debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200, and his second and third albums, We Love You Tecca 2 (2021) and Tec (2023) reached similar positions on the chart. The latter two spawned the respective hit singles "Never Left" and "500lbs".

Early life

Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe was born on August 26, 2002, in the borough of Queens New York City to Jamaican immigrants. He was raised in the Springfield Gardens neighborhood of Queens,[6] but later relocated to Cedarhurst on Long Island.[7] From a young age, Sharpe had aspirations of being in the NBA, but around the age of 12, he turned his attention towards pursuing a career in music.[8] He attended Lawrence High School.[7]

Career

When Tecca was nine years old, he catered to his interest in music by rapping with his friends over his mic on his Xbox. They would make diss tracks directed toward each other, two of which were uploaded to SoundCloud years ago[when?], but have since been taken down.[9]

His first track to gain some popularity, "Tectri", was made in collaboration with his friend, Lil Gummybear, and was released in early 2017. Other preliminary tracks of his include "Callin".[10] Just a year later, Tecca's career began to take off with his hit single, "Ransom", which was originally uploaded on Cole Bennett's Lyrical Lemonade YouTube channel on May 22, 2019. The song peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[11] and has received over 1 billion plays on Spotify[12][failed verification] and over 400 million views on YouTube.[13]

On August 30, 2019, Tecca released his debut mixtape, titled We Love You Tecca.[14] The mixtape peaked at number 4 on the US Billboard 200.[4]

After the release of multiple singles in 2020, Tecca released his debut album, Virgo World, on September 18, 2020.[15]

On April 6, 2021, Tecca released the single "Show Me Up". On May 6, 2021, he released the single "Never Left", which peaked at number 54 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[16]

On August 6, 2021, Tecca released the single "Repeat It" with American rapper Gunna. On August 27, 2021, Tecca released his second studio album, We Love You Tecca 2, the sequel to his debut mixtape, We Love You Tecca. He later went on the Tecca Loves You Tour with tana, Bktherula, and yvngxchris.[citation needed]

In 2022, Tecca released a collaboration "Let Love Go" with English singer Mabel as part of Mabel's second studio album About Last Night.[citation needed] For 2023 Lil Tecca returned with a string of singles before releasing his third album "TEC" on September 22nd. Tecca is a co-owner of Galactic Records. Galactic's roster of artists consists of Tecca himself, tana, Tokin, and WAV.[17]

Discography

Main article: Lil Tecca discography

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations earned by Lil Tecca
Award Year[A] Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Category Result Ref.
MTV Video Music Awards 2019 "Ransom" Song of Summer Nominated [18]
Streamy Awards 2019 Himself Breakthrough Artist Nominated [19]
MTV Europe Music Award 2020 Best Push Act Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.

References

  1. ^ "The Ones: Lil Tecca's "Ransom"". Pitchfork. May 23, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  2. ^ "Behind The Rise Of Lil Tecca". Genius. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  3. ^ Billboard Hot 100 Charts
  4. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (September 8, 2019). "Tool's 'Fear Inoculum' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Week For a Rock Album in Over 1 Year". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
  5. ^ "Lil Tecca Was a 16-Year-Old Rapper Making Hits on the Weekends". Complex. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  6. ^ Skelton, Eric. "Lil Tecca Is a 16-Year-Old Rapper Making Hits on the Weekends", Complex (website), June 6, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2020. "[Q] You grew up in Queens, right? [A] Yeah, I grew up in Springfield Gardens. Then in seventh grade I moved to Nassau County, Long Island."
  7. ^ a b Koscik, Danielle. "Rapper Lil Tecca's Transition from High school Student to Chart Topping Artist", Medium (website), November 21, 2019. Accessed September 26, 2020. "Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe grew up in Cedarhurst, Long Island right around the corner from the high school he would attend for 3 years before making it big. While at Lawrence High school he would tend to stay in the background before people worldwide knew his name."
  8. ^ Lil Tecca Interview with "Power 105.1"
  9. ^ "Lil Tecca Talks Balancing Music/School, Who's Repping The Youth In Hip-Hop". Power 105.1. March 31, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  10. ^ Lil Tecca – Callin (Original Song)
  11. ^ "Lil Tecca — Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  12. ^ "Ransom". Spotify. August 30, 2019. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  13. ^ Lyrical Lemonade. "Lil Tecca - Ransom (Directed by Cole Bennett)". YouTube.
  14. ^ "The Lil Tecca "No Jumper" Interview". YouTube.
  15. ^ Mahadevan, Tara C. (September 18, 2020). "Stream Lil Tecca's Album 'Virgo World' f/ Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Durk, Nav, and More". Complex. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
  16. ^ "Lil Tecca Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
  17. ^ "Galactic". galacticrecords.com. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  18. ^ "Here Are All the Winners From the 2019 MTV VMAs". Billboard. August 26, 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
  19. ^ "Winners Announced for the 9th Annual Streamy Awards". The Streamy Awards. December 14, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2019.