Lil TJay looks to back up his ‘King of New York’ claims with the release of “State Of Emergency.”
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TOP 3
3. GETTIN LIT
“Gettin Lit” is an action movie in the form of music.
Though the singing performances you get from both Lil Tjay and Jay Gwuapo on “Gettin Lit” is more annoying than infectious, I do f**k with the way the two rappers welcome beef like it’s a COVID-19 vaccine in the song.
Lil Tjay and Jay Gwuapo sound like baby shooters on this song (Hey, baby shooters are still very dangerous).
2. ICE COLD
“Ice Cold” is special.
Lil Tjay has progressed as an artist these last couple of months. To me, the melodies he has been dropping sound crispier, his lyrics have gotten a bit more meaningful, and his presence on the mic has gotten mightier. With that being said, on “Ice Cold,” I personally think Tjay gifts us with a performance that only proves my point that he has a bright future ahead of him.
1. ZOO YORK
Remember when New York hip-hop was run by Jay-Z, Biggie, and DMX? Well, these days, Lil Tjay, Pop Smoke, and Fivio Foreign are running the city.
“Zoo York” is powered by a drill beat that I have heard over one million times (No cap). Over it, Lil Tjay blesses us with a verse that straddles the line between melodic and heinous, Fivio Foreign blesses us with a verse that straddles the line between sly and callous, and Pop Smoke blesses us with a verse that straddles the line between scratchy and gorilla-like.
“Zoo York” will definitely end up being a big New York anthem.
SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN
1. ICE COLD (4.5/5)
2. ZOO YORK (4/5)
3. SHOOT FOR THE STARS (3.5/5)
4. WET’EM UP 2 (2.5/5)
5. CITY ON MY BACK (2.5/5)
6. MY CITY (3/5)
7. GETTIN LIT (3.5/5)
OVERALL RATING
(D+)
Meh.
I am not impressed with State Of Emergency. To me, the music you hear on the album is sloppy. To be more specific, the singing/rapping performances that you get from Tjay on the album sound both predictable and annoying, the features that you get on the album are relevant but uninteresting (I like Fivio and Pop Smoke’s features on “Zoo York”), and the beats you hear on the album are blah (I was surprised to hear a few drill beats on the album). Though Tjay has shown flashes of greatness in his music before, he still struggles to understand the style of music he needs to make to succeed.
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Quincy is the creator of Ratings Game Music. He loves writing about music, taking long walks on beaches, and spaghetti that fights him back.