Lil Tecca, the 21-year-old rapper from New York who rose to fame as a teenager in 2019 after his hot single “Ransom” skyrocketed up billboards all around the country, released his third studio album, “TEC,” in September.
Some rappers start making music because of the unsafe environment they live in or because someone told them to try it. Tecca, however, knew he wanted to make music at a young age, while in middle school, after losing interest in his initial aspirations of making it into the National Basketball Association.
In an interview on “The Zane Lowe Show,” Tecca reiterated his music dreams from high school, describing how he gave himself a “time bomb” of four years to make it in the music industry before he entered the real world as an adult. Tecca’s parents initially didn’t know he was making music, as it was only a “part-time escape,” Tecca said.
The title was the most challenging aspect of the album Tecca had to deal with. “Tecca” was originally going to be the title of the album, but Tecca changed it to “TEC” because he wanted to “simplify it and get straight to the point,” he said in an interview with Complex’s Jessica McKinney, who writes about music, entertainment and pop culture. “Plan A” was also a name he considered.
Tecca doesn’t want to have any regrets when he’s done with his music career. “Regardless if I’m dead or alive, I’m going to do this the way I want to do this,” he said.
When talking about the album to McKinney, Tecca said he wanted it to be “about what I want to be in life, in the future” and “stuff I’m going through now.”
Tecca went through a variety of flows in “TEC,” looking to appeal to a wide range of fans and putting his flexibility on display in the hip-hop community. “It’s a playlist of my vibes,” Tecca said. “Just going through the whole album, you’re gonna get to what you’re looking for.”
Cover arts for hip-hop albums can have hidden meaning, but Tecca made the “TEC” album simple. He wanted to show the world his growth and past accomplishments.
Tecca stands in the foreground, with a Statue of Liberty prop and a mini Jamaica flag tagging where he was born and where his family originates from, with previous album covers on display behind him along with tour posters, clips of music videos and his own clothing brand, “Tecca.”
“TEC” debuted at No. 11 on the US Billboard 200 and sold 41,000 copies in its first week — the biggest sales week ever for a Tecca studio album.
Lil Tecca is not done, though. He’s staying locked in as he revealed he’s already working on his next project. He didn’t reveal details on what that project might be, but Tecca’s dedication to proving he’s not a one-hit wonder and putting the work in—not only as a rapper and songwriter, but as a producer as well—is great for the music industry as he solidifies himself as one of the best young and upcoming rappers of this generation.
