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Taymore Travon McIntyre, also known by his stage name Tay-K, is an American rapper, songwriter and convicted criminal best known for his hit song "The Race", which went viral following his arrest in Elizabeth, New Jersey. In July 2019, his trial began for his involvement for the murder of 21-year old Ethan Walker during the 2016 home invasion robbery, and McIntyre pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, but not capital murder.
History
Early life
Born in Long Beach, California on June 16, 2000, McIntyre was the son of Kevin Beverly, a member of the Baby Insane Crips gang originally from Compton who moved to Hampton, Virginia. His mother was also a gang member under the Crips and she moved him and his sister to Las Vegas, Nevada, when McIntyre was at the age of eight. His father was released from prison when he was attending Young Junior High School in Arlington, Texas and Martin High School, also in Arlington.
Career and criminal charges
After McIntyre developed a rap career on the audio distribution platform SoundCloud in December 2014, under the name "Tay-K", a.k.a. Tay-K 47 (a play on the AK-47 assault rifle), he was arrested on capital murder charges on March 16, 2016 and at that same day, he released he released his "Megaman", which became popular alongside Tay-K's other songs.
While on the run of the police, he released "The Race" alongside several other songs which was recorded during McIntyre's stay in New Jersey. The song's music video was released on YouTube two weeks before his capture and the song itself debuted at number 70 on the US Billboard Hot 100 after a large hashtag campaign pursuing McIntyre's release using the hashtag "#FREETAYK".