Lil Tecca facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lil Tecca
|
|
|---|---|
| Birth name | Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe |
| Born | August 26, 2002 Queens, New York |
| Occupation(s) |
|
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Labels |
|
| Signature | |
 |
|
Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe (born August 26, 2002), known professionally as Lil Tecca, is an American rapper and singer. He became famous in 2019 with his song "Ransom". This song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 music chart.
After "Ransom", he released his first mixtape, We Love You Tecca (2019). It also reached number four on the Billboard 200 chart. This mixtape included other popular songs like "Love Me" and "Did It Again". His first studio album, Virgo World (2020), reached number ten on the Billboard 200. His next albums, We Love You Tecca 2 (2021) and Tec (2023), also did well on the charts. Songs like "Never Left" and "500lbs" from these albums became very popular and earned platinum awards. His fourth album, Plan A, came out in 2024. His fifth album, Dopamine, was released on June 13, 2025, and featured singles "Dark Thoughts" and "Owa Owa".
Contents
Early Life and Music Start
Tyler-Justin Anthony Sharpe was born on August 26, 2002, in Queens, New York. His parents were immigrants from Jamaica. He grew up in the Springfield Gardens area of Queens, which gave him many different cultural experiences. Later, he moved to Cedarhurst on Long Island.
When he was younger, Tyler dreamed of playing in the NBA (National Basketball Association). But by age 12, he became very interested in music. He loved hip-hop and was inspired by artists like Chief Keef and Speaker Knockerz. He went to Lawrence High School.
Music Career Journey
Early Steps in Music (2011–2018)
Lil Tecca's interest in music began when he was just 9 years old. He started rapping into his microphone while playing games on Xbox with his friends. He and his friends would even make "diss tracks" about each other. Tecca uploaded two of these early songs to his SoundCloud account, but they are no longer available.
His first song that got noticed was "Tectri" in 2017. This was a song he made with another artist named Gummybear. After "Tectri", Tecca kept releasing more songs, including one called "Callin".
Rise to Fame: "Ransom" and First Albums (2019–2021)
On October 29, 2018, Tecca released a song called "Love Me". It was produced by Dystinkt Beats. This song appeared on the Canadian Hot 100 and Rolling Stone Top 100 charts.
His big breakthrough came with the song "Ransom". It was first shared on Cole Bennett's Lyrical Lemonade YouTube channel on May 22, 2019. Pitchfork magazine described the song as a "trippy" and "traditional" cloud rap style. "Ransom" became a huge hit, reaching number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has been streamed over 1.4 billion times on Spotify and viewed over 500 million times on YouTube.
On July 24, Tecca released another single called "Did It Again". This song reached number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it his second song to enter that chart. By October 2023, "Did It Again" was certified two-times platinum. This means it sold and streamed the equivalent of over two million units in the United States.
On August 14, 2019, Tecca released a remix of "Ransom" featuring Juice Wrld on his SoundCloud. The remix was later added to his first mixtape, We Love You Tecca, along with the original song. On August 30, Tecca released We Love You Tecca. This mixtape was very successful, reaching number 4 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
After his mixtape's success, Tecca worked with Internet Money and A Boogie Wit da Hoodie on their song "Somebody". This song came out on October 11, 2019, and reached number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. He also released "Glo Up" and "Why You Look Mad" later that year.
In 2020, Tecca was featured on The Kid Laroi's song "Diva", which charted in Australia. He also released his own songs like "IDK" and "All Star" with Lil Tjay. On April 17, he released "Out of Love" featuring Internet Money.
On September 18, Tecca released his first studio album, Virgo World. The song "Dolly" featuring Lil Uzi Vert was released on the same day. In March 2021, Tecca was featured on Internet Money's song "Jetski" with Lil Mosey.
New Albums and Collaborations (2022–2024)
On April 6, 2021, Tecca released the single "Show Me Up". On May 6, he released "Never Left", which reached number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100. He also released "Money on Me" and "Repeat It" (featuring Gunna) in July and August 2021.
On August 27, Tecca released his second studio album, We Love You Tecca 2. This album was a follow-up to his first mixtape. It featured other artists like Gunna, Iann Dior, Chief Keef, Trippie Redd, Nav, and Lil Yachty. A deluxe version of the album was released on September 1, 2021. Tecca also appeared on songs by Bankrol Hayden and 24kGoldn's "Prada". He then went on the Tecca Loves You Tour with tana, Bktherula, and yvngxchris.
In 2022, Tecca released the single "Fallin" on January 28. He also appeared on a remix of "Flowers (Say My Name)" by ArrDee and on "Let Love Go" with English singer Mabel. He released two more singles, "Faster" and "Treesha", in the summer of 2022, followed by "Blessing" in December.
In 2023, Tecca released four singles leading up to his third studio album: "Need Me", "500lbs", "Hvn on Earth" (with Kodak Black), and "Dead or Alive". His third studio album, Tec, was released on September 22, 2023. It had 16 songs and was well-received by critics. Tec became Lil Tecca's third album to reach the top of the US Billboard 200 chart, debuting at number eleven. The music video for "Down with Me" came out in December 2023.
In May 2024, Tecca released two songs, "Never Last" and "Number 2", along with their music videos. "Number 2" charted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. On August 9, Tecca released "Taste", and on August 30, he released "Bad Time". In September 2024, Tecca announced his fourth studio album, Plan A, which was released on September 20. Plan A debuted at number nine on the US Billboard 200 and featured Don Toliver.
Recent Music: Dopamine (2025)
On March 14, 2025, Lil Tecca released the single "Dark Thoughts". This song was the first single from his fifth studio album, Dopamine. On May 30, 2025, he released the album's second single, "OWA OWA". The album Dopamine was then released on June 13, 2025.
Personal Life
In interviews from 2023, Lil Tecca shared that if he wasn't a rapper, he would have liked to be a heart surgeon.
Albums
- Virgo World (2020)
- We Love You Tecca 2 (2021)
- Tec (2023)
- Plan A (2024)
- Dopamine (2025)
Awards and Nominations
| Award | Year | Recipient(s) and nominee(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2019 | "Ransom" | Song of Summer | Nominated | |
| Streamy Awards | 2019 | Himself | Breakthrough Artist | Nominated | |
| MTV Europe Music Award | 2020 | Best Push Act | Nominated | ||
| Billboard Music Awards | 2020 | "Ransom" | Top Rap Song | Nominated |
See also
In Spanish: Lil Tecca para niños
