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Coming off his near-fatal shooting, Bronx crooner Lil Tjay was up against hip hop history. After all, surviving 7 gunshot wounds was reason enough to anticipate the “Calling My Phone” rapper’s next release. However, hip hop’s ever-changing landscape and Tjay’s replicable sound may have done the rapper in when it came to sales. With the news that his first project since his shooting, 222, had garnered just 22K in first-week streaming sales it came with a perception that Tjay’s album was a disappointment, or worse, that he was falling off.

Album Review

In light, this isn’t to say that 222 is a great album by any means. This latest effort is an inconsistent body of work that showcases many of Tjay’s talents, but also highlights why Lil Uzi Vert’s idiosyncratic effort is the only hip hop album to debut at number 1 on Billboard in 2023. Although with Tjay’s track record and a story to tell, there were high expectations. Nonetheless, some head scratching choices left the project feeling a bit manufactured.

222 starts strong with “Nightshift” and “June 22nd,” as both records showcased an underrated part of Tjay’s repertoire. Known for his catchy hooks, piercing vocals and crooning melodies, he decides to start the album with two emphatic rap records that have an authentic New York feel. “Nightshift” sees the Bronx native put his stamp on the project and rap game, followed by the witty, story-telling June 22nd, depicting his almost-deadly shooting. It wouldn’t be long before Tjay got vulnerable as the next five songs saw him get into his melodic bag. The reflective “Nobody” and “Scared 2 Be Lonely” are both very good while “2 Grown” featuring The Kid LAROI will probably go diamond on Tik Tok.

Where it Went Wrong?

However, things take a turn in the album’s second half with what feels like quite a few filler records and questionable decision making. Tjay’s youth might also play a part in this, as no one must have told him that nobody over the age of 14 wants to sing along to a song whose hook is “Bla, Bla, Bla” — although the song isn’t bad as he and Fivio Foreign mesh well. He follows that by leaning too much into his singing on “Someone Who Cares” which made for a hard listen where piercing quickly turned nasally.

The rest of the album follows this same ebb-and-flow of quality versus content. “Forgot I Was The 1” is a good record, but that’s followed by an out-of-place Jadakiss feature — and it didn’t help that the mixing made the veteran rhymer sound no less than 190 years old. The head scratching decisions continued with a sequel to his Billboard charting return single on “Beat The Odds Pt 2,” featuring a Polo G verse that derailed what was meant to be an emotional comeback record. Ultimately, Tjay finishes the album strong with the honest “Foster Baby” — where he reveals he was adopted — and the contemplative “Grateful.”

Why Lil Tjay Didn’t dissapoint

All things considered, what could have have been Lil Tjay’s defining project will end up being more fodder for the microwave music culture. Yet, its hard to see anything the “Pop Out” rapper could have done to generate substantially better numbers. While it may be concerning that he’s now doing half of his what his debut sold only 4 years ago, such is the state of NY hip hop’s commercially. After all, Fivio Foreign assisted by A-list talent mustered 29k first-week sales. In the streaming era, it is much more important to keep a few charting songs and known features than a great project top-to-bottom. It’s what the system rewards.

While these factors all play a part in why first-week sales shouldn’t matter too much for Tjay, the most obvious hindrance to his growth as an artist is his sonic likeness to A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. The two Bronx rappers maintain a tense relationship with Tjay usually on the defending end of his music. Regardless, it’s hard to ignore the similarities on the Summer Walker mashup “Stressed” and “Foster Baby” which both sound like carbon copy A Boogie records. But then again, is it right to fault Tjay for sounding like someone who grew up 20 minutes from him?

Look how many records I done sold, woke up, I feel like a pot of gold. How it happened, I don’t even know, I saw my lane and all I know is go.

– Lil Tjay, “Nightshift”

Nonetheless, the mainstream audience hold the true power of sway and right now A Boogie is the preferred New York crooner. With allegations of his own drop-off in quality the “Look Back at It” rapper more than doubled Tjay’s first-week numbers with his last project. All in all, Tjay may have given himself the best advice on “June 22nd” rapping, “the show’s lined up, album’s soundin’ like some crack, so I’m excited for the music comin’ out and for the sack.”