Key Takeaways
- In his first full-length interview in nearly a decade, Tay-K discusses prison life, his love for Olivia Rodrigo and Loaded Honey, and creating his debut album, #MonstersUnderMyBed, behind bars.
- Tay-K recruited XXXTENTACION collaborator John Cunningham to executive produce the project, shaped songs over years of phone recordings, and insists no AI contributed to his music.
- While serving a 55-year murder sentence, Tay-K defends “The Race” as art despite its use against him in court and credits fans—not consistent industry support—with keeping him connected.
Nearly a decade after his infamous rise to fame, Tay-K is ready to speak.
The rapper has spent the last eight-plus years behind bars, after going on the run while his breakout song “The Race” was taking off. He was eventually apprehended in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and in 2019, he was found guilty of murder for his involvement in a 2016 home invasion that resulted in the death of Ethan Walker. He is currently serving a 55-year prison sentence.
Tay-K is currently incarcerated at the John B. Connally Unit, a maximum-security prison in Karnes County, Texas. That's where he called from for his first full-length interview in nearly a decade.
During our conversation, I encountered someone different from the figure whose reputation has followed him for years. Tay-K admitted he was nervous at first, but as the conversation went on, he loosened up, revealing someone thoughtful, creative, and almost surprisingly grateful for the opportunity to talk.
He spoke enthusiastically about the music he's been listening to, the books he's been reading, and his official debut album, #MonstersUnderMyBed, which was released today and executive produced by John Cunningham, a producer who worked with XXXTENTACION.
Check out Tay-K's first full-length interview below.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity and readability.
Talk to me, how you feeling?
Tay-K: I’m doing good, bro.
It’s great to hear your voice. The people still care about you, still missing you. How are you? How are your spirits? How are you holding up in there?
Right now I’m kind of nervous, but in general, bro, I’m doing good, man. I’m just progressing. Just doing great. I’m actually blessed, being grateful, thankful. Nothing but positive, you know.
Talk about the nervousness. Where are the nerves coming from?
I’m just naturally always nervous, I’m not gonna lie. I’ve been nervous forever. I’m kind of just a shy person, especially when it’s speaking with someone I’ve never spoken to before and stuff like that. I’m good, though.
What has your daily routine been over these last few years as you’ve been working on the project and just going about your day?
I kind of just got to prison a year ago, for real. Before that, I’d been in the county jails for eight years. They had me on 24-hour lockdown where I had to shower in my cell and they brought the tray through the tray slot. It was real restricted. Then I did a time on 23-hour lockdown, where you get 23 hours in the cell and come out for an hour a day. That was still kind of fucked up, for real.
But throughout all of it, especially lately over the last year, I just wake up at like seven in the morning. I work out, then I check in with my management because I’ve been locked in on this project for the last two years, so that’s picked up a bunch of my time and focus. I might read, pray, type of shit. I kind of don’t eat till later in the day, bro. I don’t eat till like nine o’clock every day. I watch what I eat, keep my shape.
What have you been reading?
The book I read the most is probably the Holy Quran. I also read manga. I like Chainsaw Man, that shit is fire. I ain’t gonna lie, I read all the manga. Chainsaw Man, Fullmetal Alchemist, Hunter x Hunter, I read all that shit. Promised Neverland is probably my favorite one.
When I first got locked up I was reading urban books, like on some bullshit. Hood books, for real, but I kind of outgrew them. I read all types of stuff, bro. I read about psychology, I read everything. I love reading.
So that’s on the reading side, but are you listening to music in there? How are you accessing music?
For a long time, I had to hear about music being told to me, and I hated that. I was like, bro, I don’t want to hear it described no more because the music started getting super distorted in my head. I didn’t even know what was going on.
But then in the county, they kind of accidentally gave us a smart TV, so we could get on YouTube, for real. And now I got a tablet. They update it every time something drops, so that’s a good way for me to tap in now.
But over the time, officers would come in and they’d have a speaker and kind of play their own music and shit like that. That opened up my ears to different types of music that I kinda had heard before. I was like, “damn, this shit is really hard”—like Linkin Park, Nirvana. That kind of opened my eyes, really, the officers coming in and playing that stuff.
So you were being introduced to Linkin Park, Nirvana, other genres through the officers playing music on speakers near your cell?
Yeah, for sure.
I mean, I had heard these songs before, but I heard them when I was a kid. Even pop music, they gave us radios for a little bit before they took them away. I would keep up with the rap stations and the pop stations too. It kind of just took me back to my childhood, like watching MTV and stuff. I love all the music, though. If I told you the shit I listen to, you wouldn’t expect none of it, I ain’t gonna lie.
What’s some of your favorite things you listen to right now?
My favorite album right now is this album by a duo called Loaded Honey. You heard of them? I like them.
What else? I fuck with Rio [da Yung OG]. I listen to Fattmack. I like the “Smaxk or Die” song by Fatt Smaxk. I fuck with Olivia Rodrigo. I fuck with EBK Jaaybo.
You listen to Olivia Rodrigo?
Yeah, I love Olivia Rodrigo.
That’s dope, bro. She just put out a new album recently.
Yeah, yeah, I fuck with that shit.
Are you tapped in with the current rap underground?
Yeah, yeah. But that’s what I’m saying, it’s kind of hard for me to discern what’s underground and what’s not, because these niggas don’t be underground like they used to, you know, like certain folks. But if you’re talking about an aesthetic and a certain type of talent level, yeah, I’m tapped in. I got a good idea of everybody just kind of doing their thing, both underground and mainstream.
I knew you were tapped in because I saw a clip where you had called in on PlaqueBoyMax’s stream. It was so interesting because you said you had only heard his beats, you didn’t know what he looked like, you didn’t know what he sounded like, you’d never even seen the stream, but you were familiar with his production style. How did you get tapped into Max’s beats?
I had the Nino Paid album, Love Me As I Am. The last song has BabyChiefDoit and that beat was just real hard. I was fucking with the first half of the beat. I was like, “damn, I would’ve went crazy on that.”
That’s really dope to hear that you’re still able to stay connected to music coming out while you’re inside. And obviously now you’re putting out a project yourself, #MonstersUnderMyBed. Can you talk about the process of putting this music together?
This music was probably written over the last five or six years, and mostly recorded over the last five years or so.
I can’t give away too much. People send me beats, right, and I would just get on that record. So most of these songs I just hopped directly on beats that I liked.
And then some stuff I just had a recording, like an acappella, for real. When I recorded acappella I was like, OK, I’m gonna get a beat to this. But then I kind of ended up not being able to really achieve the sound I was trying to get when I just let somebody else handle it. So then I started letting my own brain lead it. I got so much time to think, bro. That’s actually a beautiful thing I had to start being grateful for, how much time I had to think. It gave me so much time to really just tap into everything I’m capable of. When you hear the project, bro, you’re gonna be like, “what the fuck, how’d you write this?”
I would get on a playlist from my producer and be like, “OK, I could play with this.” And sometimes it’s just me beatboxing the drums, like, okay, these drums, too hard, use this type of drum, use the Detroit drum. Just cooking up on the phone with my guys, for real.
I take a lot of inspiration from Kanye. When Kanye puts his album together, it’s like, everything doesn’t have to just be a verse. Just creativity, just utilize the shit—making music, that’s what this is all about.
That’s literally what I was about to ask you, what were some of the inspirations with this project, and you’re saying Kanye kind of inspired you when putting this together?
No, I wouldn’t say Kanye inspired the actual sound. He kind of opened my eyes to, like, the potential. I get inspired by everything, bro. I like some of the jerk stuff, like my little homies that make that kind of music. And I just get inspired by everything. Olivia Rodrigo, street music, underground music, even some pop music inspired me.
And [XXXTENTACION] actually inspired me a lot, bro. It’s crazy because that’s kind of how I got introduced to the person I have executive producing my whole project. I was reading XXX’s biography, and they kept mentioning this name, John Cunningham. I was like, man, this nigga sounds like a real helpful individual, bro. So I found bro on Instagram and DM’d him.
Recently Dominic Fike put out his project and you had a voice note at the end of it. Can you talk about what your relationship with him is like, and when did he reach out to you to be involved with that?
That was really just like God, for real, bro. Because I was actually trying to finish my album and do the tracklisting and stuff. I was on the phone for like 20 hours with my producer, John Cunningham. He had to leave at some point, he was like, man, I gotta fly, I gotta go do this Dominic Fike shit. Then after he flew down there, he was like, bro, I need you to call me. So I called, and I just kind of locked into that. I’d been showing him my music, and he was just fucking with it. He gave me some ideas and I was like, “bro, let’s do it.”
Obviously your entire journey has been really interesting. Early on, especially when you first got locked up and “The Race” was blowing up, there were so many artist collaborations and remixes. But who, in terms of rappers, was talking to you back then? Who’s been some people who’ve reached out to you, showing love and support, and has there been anybody who has consistently been showing that support over these years?
Nobody consistently. I have a lot of love for Kodak [Black]. We’ve spoken a few times, for real. Kodak, [Lil Yachty], [Lil Uzi Vert]. I spoke to T.I., bro. So many people, bro. I talked to Desiigner—that was an interesting conversation.
Carti. And [Pi'erre Bourne] was helping me do a lot of stuff, bro. Shout out to bro, bro was actually helping me. We’ve recorded so many songs over this jail phone, for real.
You said that you talked to Carti, Playboi Carti, I’m assuming?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
How long ago is this, roughly, do you think?
Man, that was a long time ago. I talked to Carti probably about six years ago, bro. That was a long time ago. That was around, like, the whole Die Lit era, gang.
I ain’t gonna lie, everybody has reached out and shown a lot of love. Most recently, I really been fucking with 1900Rugrat. I got a lot of love for bro. Baby Kia. Nettspend, OsamaSon. I actually fuck with Comethazine, bro.
Out of everybody, I ain’t gonna front, bro really the only rapper that has actually put money on my account. I appreciate that. Bro sent me $500. I ain’t never forgot about that shit.
Your fame blew up and largely happened while you were away. What is your relationship like with fame? Do you feel that?
Do I feel famous? I feel appreciated. Like I know I’m somebody, you feel me? I feel that from myself and my people that’s near me, and I appreciate all my supporters.
I don’t know, gang, I really don’t know if I feel it, like, when I walk around, everybody kind of knows, you know what I’m saying? People take notice when they see me, for real. When I go to visitation, people can’t believe it’s me and stuff like that. That part is cool.
“The Race” is a platinum song, but also a song that was so ahead of its time in terms of sound. I think that’s what made it so successful. But I could only imagine the complicated relationship you might have with that record. How do you feel about that song and how it helped catapult you into this massive rap fame, and also everything that came along with it?
I love that song, bro. I see what you’re saying. That song gets used against me in a lot of ways in court and stuff like that. But at the end of the day, bro, that shit’s music. That shit’s a song. I won’t let the fact that people try to wield it like a weapon at me in these courtrooms make me not like my art. That’s art, and that shit should be viewed as art, nothing more and nothing less.
I understand that the art might be perceived as closely related to reality, but that’s not enough to hold it up in no court. I love that song. I love all my songs. I love all my music. I thank God that I’m even able to make this shit.
Getting back into the music you’re about to drop, what are you most excited for people to hear? And what do you hope people take away from #MonstersUnderMyBed?
#MonstersUnderMyBed is so special to me, bro, because I feel like it’s a documentation of feelings and just... what do people say when they turn something? Transmutation. Like, I done turned this, they gave me a rock and I turned it into gold. I feel special about it.
I’m just glad to communicate with my fans again, bro. I’m glad for people to hear me. This music, it’s authentic, so you can hear that I love music and it means a lot to me. I just can’t wait for people to hear it.
Since you were making this project within the last five to six years, that’s a really big developmental period. What do you think you learned about yourself in the process of putting this project together?
Man, I done learned that I’m much more than a lot of shit, bro. I done learned that I’m capable of much more. People try to put me in a box, as far as who I am, and I just learned that I’m free, bro. I can do what the fuck I want. I am myself. No one else gets to define that. That’s me. I own that. I feel freedom.
The title, #MonstersUnderMyBed, I kind of leave that open for interpretation. I feel like we all got monsters under our bed, bro. It’s not for me to look at yours, it’s not for you to look at mine. I like a lot of this project. I like the way that I evolved, bro. Now I’m able to talk about certain shit, but still do it in a Tay-K way.
Since you’ve been able to stay tapped into some of the music dropping outside, do you have an album of the year? Any specific project you’ve really gravitated toward that you think is the best to come out this year so far?
If I’m talking album of the year, just from my personal opinion, not thinking with any commercial brand or nothing like that, I think... the Loaded Honey album. That’s like my favorite album ever. I love that.
All right, bro, my brother, I appreciate you taking the time. This is the first real interview you’ve done in the last eight or nine years. Is there anything you want to leave with the people, anything you want to leave for your supporters who’ve been tapping in with you, staying locked in with you throughout all these years?
For sure, bro. Like I mentioned earlier, you kind of asked me about industry support and who’s been there, and I said nobody consistent. The one thing that has been consistent is the people, bro. So I don’t really need no rappers. I don’t need no big industry looks. I don’t need none of that. I appreciate the people. I appreciate my fans. I appreciate my supporters. I appreciate everybody that is rooting for Tay-K, you feel me?
And sometimes when you talk about fans, the waters get muddy of who is really a supporter. But I appreciate everybody that’s always been positive, bro. I’m thankful for that. I’ve been locked up going on ten years, fam, and I still scream like crazy. I still left an impact on the world. So everybody that played any part in doing that, because it wasn’t me by myself, it’s nothing but gratitude and love.
And also, I’ve been getting people speculating on whether there was AI involved in my music, bro. There was no AI involved in nothing I do, nor would I ever put out some corny shit that AI was involved in, bro. I respect y’all much more than that, and I respect my music way more than that. So I’m just thankful that y’all are gonna be able to hear me, and I hope y’all fuck with this shit as much as I do, and I love everybody.
