Tay-K 47, a rapper once celebrated for the viral hit "The Race," was sentenced to 80 years in prison for one of hip-hop's most infamous real-life crime sagas after he was convicted of the cold-blooded 2017 murder of photographer Mark Anthony Saldivar in a suspenseful closing to the case. The sentence also ensures that the 24-year-old, whose name is Taymor McIntyre, won't spend decades, if not a lifetime, outside prison walls.
In 2017, Tay-K wasn't simply another teenage rapper seeking his big break; he was an on-the-lam fugitive. And instead of going low, he made his escape a breakout moment. "The Race" was tracked and released as he actively dodged authorities, its lyrics brazenly boasting of running from the law. The song resonated and shot up the Billboard Hot 100 to No. 44. Its defiance made headlines, and catchiness made it a hit. But behind the viral momentum lay a darker truth exposing itself.
Check out this article.
The most recent conviction originated from a deadly confrontation in a San Antonio Chick-fil-A parking lot. Tay-K allegedly shot Saldivar when the photographer didn't turn over his backpack. The shooting occurred while Tay-K was already on the run from his arrest for his role in a 2016 home invasion and robbery that ended with the death of 21-year-old Ethan Walker in Fort Worth.
Although Tay-K escaped a capital murder conviction mostly because he was 16 years old when Saldivar was shot, the justice system hardly went easy on him. The 80-year sentence will be served simultaneously with the 55-year sentence he's already serving for the Walker case. That adds up to 135 years total, and while many of those sentences can be served together, he's going to be behind bars for the rest of his life, not that the "race" matters anymore.
The short-lived rap stardom of Tay-K is one of hip-hop's most unsettling warning tales. From rapping beside his own wanted poster to earning more cult status among fans drawn to his real story, he became an icon of youthful rebellion with tragic fatality. His music was compelling, but so was the violence that followed him.
It's unclear if Tay-K intends to keep making music behind bars like some of his now-incarcerated peers have been able to do. But for now, the microphone is silent. The headlines today, once about a teenage rapper who had come up, are now about a man who has a lifetime to think about what he's done. Tay-K might have made a hit about running from the law, but reality finally came knockin' and then some.
0 Comments