Tione Jayden Merritt (born April 30, 2001), known professionally as Lil Tjay, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence in 2017 with his song "Resume", and then the release of his breakthrough song "Brothers" which led him to sign with Columbia Records later during that year.
Lil Tjay's debut studio album, True 2 Myself, was released in 2019. The following year, he released the mixtape State of Emergency that features only drill artists from New York City. True 2 Myself debuted at number 5 on the Billboard 200, marking the album his first charted release. His second studio album, Destined 2 Win, was released in 2021 and included the single "Calling My Phone", a collaboration with fellow recording artist 6lack, his highest-charting song yet.
Merritt was born and raised on Ryer Ave & 183rd St in the Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx borough of New York City. He was raised by a single mother and had two younger siblings in what was described as a "roomy" apartment. Merritt called himself the problematic child out of the three, as he would often get himself into petty robberies and school fights. At the age of 15, Merritt was arrested for one of his robberies and was sentenced for a year to a youth detention center where he would begin to write raps; they included one of his hit songs "Resume", which he released on SoundCloud.

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