He’s back! Nearly 18 months since his 2018 arrest, Tekashi 6ix9ine finally returned to the public eye on Friday (May 8) with a highly-anticipated Instagram Live session, which shattered the IG Live record by topping more than two-million viewers at its peak.
The usually-rowdy Brooklyn native has been radio silent, laying low for the most part since his April 2 release from prison, which came four months prior to the original date he’d be set free. Tekashi’s legal team secured him the right to serve the rest of his sentence on house arrest since he suffers from asthma and the coronavirus outbreak continues to run rampant through the prison system.
Tekashi is wasting no time in resuming his rap career, as he debuted his pugnacious “GOOBA” single on Friday (May 8), which also happens to be his 24th birthday. 6ix9ine’s on the hook for two albums (one in English and one in Spanish) to 10K Projects after re-upping with the label for a reported $10 million back in October while still behind bars.
Nobody understands the art of promotion quite like 6ix9ine, as the Tekashi experience is already back at full tilt. Between his new beef with Meek Mill, defending his snitching ways, and still being the self-proclaimed king of New York, here are the best moments from the rainbow hair-colored rhymer’s boisterous 15-minute IG Live.
5. Where’s the loyalty?
6ix9ine attempts to clear his name and explain what happened before being arrested that led to him snitching on his manager, Shotti, and flipping on fellow members of the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods. “But where was the loyalty when you were sleeping with my baby mother,” he says while hinting at rumors involving Shotti and his baby mother, Sara Molina. “Where was the loyalty when you were caught on the wiretap trying to kill me? Where was the loyalty when you tried to kidnap my mother? Where was the loyalty when you stole millions of dollars, so who broke it first?”
He continues to detail how he wasn’t “about the gang s–t,” but simply saw hip-hop as a way to get out of poverty and feed his family. “When I met son, he was sleeping on the rug! ‘Listen, I’m a Mexican, rainbow-haired kid and I rap. I’m not about that gang s–t, but I know how to get us out,'” 6ix9ine says. “If you can’t hold me down out here in the free world, what makes you think if I would’ve held it down, you wouldn’t violate me in prison?”
4. He still believes he’s the “king of New York”
While he was locked up, other NY artists attempted their claim at the throne, as we most recently heard The Bronx native Lil Tjay make his claim to be the true king of New York. 6ix9ine still doesn’t see anyone at his level, and he’s using numbers like having two-million people in a single IG Live to prove it.
“Why I keep hearing king of New York? Y’all are not the king of New York, look at the numbers,” he says. “For the king of New York s–t, let’s cut that out. Little boy, sit down. If you don’t got this watch, I’m not beefing with anyone from New York. If you don’t got this watch, you’re a little boy to me. I’ll kiss you on the forehead. King’s home, it’s over.”
3. He’s embracing his snitching ways
Tekashi isn’t hiding from the fact he cooperated with the government to earn a favorable plea deal. “Y’all really didn’t have a reason to dislike me. But now, y’all got a reason, so the go-to is, ‘He snitched,'” the 24-year-old explains. “My fans, my family don’t deserve that and I’m sorry. Listen, I snitched [and] I ratted, but who was I supposed to be loyal to?”
2. He believes he didn’t do anything wrong
If you expected 6ix9ine to be humbled by his near-18 months behind bars, you were mistaken. Following his typical series of boastful comments, Tekashi shows a bit of humility when apologizing to his fans. “I’m sorry to my fans because, you know what, it wasn’t worth it.”
He then thanks his lawyer and the judge for allowing him to be back with his family, but ends up claiming he didn’t do anything wrong in the eyes of the law, even though he struck a plea deal with the U.S. Government in Jan. 2019 for his involvement with Nine Trey, which included using a weapon in the attempted murder of an individual on March 20, 2018. “I want to shout-out my lawyer, Lance Lazzaro. I want to say thank you to the judge for allowing me to come home to my family. I appreciate that. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
1. He seemingly addresses his newly-ignited feud with Meek Mill
After welcoming a newborn earlier this week, Meek Mill had a few things to get off his chest regarding 6ix9ine’s return to the music game. Tekashi welcomes his latest feud with open arms, as he goes on to subliminally troll Meek about how his belief that he’s still a bigger artist than the Philly native.
“You lived your whole life trying to be a real n—a, and try to s–t on a kid like me,” The “Gummo” rapper responds. “For a rat to come home and do more numbers than you, I would be mad too. If a rat came home the way I came home and did more numbers than me, I would be mad. You have every reason to be mad.”