Lil Tjay first became known in the music industry in 2017 with the SoundCloud singles “Resume” and “Brothers”. The two songs displayed Tjay’s rapping abilities and style. In 2019, he released his debut album, ‘True 2 Myself’. Almost 2 years after releasing ‘True 2 Myself’, he released his sophomore album, ‘Destined 2 Win’. Released on April 2, 2021, ‘Destined 2 Win’ is 21 songs long and features guest appearances from Tyga, Saweetie, Offset, 6LACK, Polo G, and more. While ‘True 2 Myself’ was overloaded with catchy hooks and party anthems, ‘Destined 2 Win’ finds Lil Tjay getting more in touch with his emotions.
Though ‘Destined 2 Win’ does have a few bangers on it, most of the tracks on the album are more so on the vibish side. Besides “Oh Well”, and “Headshot”, the majority of the songs are not songs one can necessarily “turn up to.” The tracks find Lil Tjay getting more personal with his fans. If the New York rapper isn’t rapping about being done wrong in a relationship, he’s rapping about leveling up and beating the odds. One thing I’ve noticed while listening to the album is how much of a stretch it is from ‘True 2 Myself’.
Though the growth is obviously there with the 19-year-old’s Sophomore album, there is a minor setback, Lil Tjay’s voice. The autotune of his voice becomes increasingly annoying and is one of the things that will keep me from revisiting the album. And while it is true that autotuned, melodical rap is the new norm in Hip Hop, it doesn’t work for everybody and in some of ‘Destined 2 Win’ Lil Tjay proves this to be true.
Overall ‘Destined 2 Win’ was a decent listen. The album definitely shows Lil Tjay’s growth as an artist, but it also displays areas where he needs improvement. Even though I probably won’t revisit the album, I can admit that Lil Tjay did what he had to do on the project.