Mother defends ‘brat’ rap singer, 9
FOUL-MOUTHED LIL TAY BLASTS ‘BROKE-ASS HATERS’
She is a nine-year-old rapper whose foulmouthed social media posts have captivated, repulsed and confounded millions of viewers.
In videos posted on Instagram and YouTube, Lil Tay, as she is known, boasts endlessly, in an almost shrill prepubescent voice, about her apparent wealth — flashing wads of American bills, revving the engines of fancy sports cars and claiming she’s wearing “Gucci from head to toe.” She also spews vulgar language at her critics, whom she describes as “broke-ass haters.”
As her status has grown, so too has the scrutiny. She’s been derided on social media for being a “brat.” Online commenters have gone so far as to suggest her mother should be investigated for abuse. A fake headline circulated recently suggesting she had been apprehended by child protection authorities.
Her mother, Angela Tian, outed recently as a Vancouver realtor, has not spoken publicly.
But in a series of text messages to her former boss this week on the Chinese-language WeChat app, Tian defended her daughter, lauding her beauty and onscreen performing talent.
Tian wrote that she never expected her daughter and teenaged son — whom she described as the creative force behind her daughter’s viral videos — to get such wide attention but heaped praise on her children’s abilities and said they’ve attracted the attention of Hollywood.
At one point, she seemed to address her daughter’s critics, saying that what they were involved in was show business — “comedy” and “acting.”
“Some people don’t get the joke,” she wrote.
The Post tried to connect with Tian, who is apparently in Los Angeles, on WeChat, on her phone and via an email listed on Lil Tay’s YouTube channel, but did not get a response.
Lil Tay labels herself the “youngest flexer of the century.” Variations of the word “flex” are common in rap lyrics to describe someone who likes to show off. But the term can also have a negative connotation and can be used to describe someone who is fake.
Christopher Schneider, a professor of sociology at Brandon University in Manitoba, said Friday he’s not surprised by Lil Tay’s rising stardom. In order to stand out in the crowded social media landscape, internet stars often turn to “gimmicks,” he said.
While Lil Tay is not the first rapper in the hip hop scene to thumb their nose at authority, flaunt their money and use inflammatory language, she does stand out for her young age.
“Most parents don’t allow kids to speak like that. It’s shock value,” he said.
Schneider said she pushes the envelope further when, in at least one of her videos, she boasts that she’s a “9-year-old millionaire and I be smoking dope, bitch.” In another video she touts how she got rich by “moving bricks,” slang for drugs.
“Gets right to the edge there,” he said.
Schneider added it is possible that the audience numbers she’s pulling in on various platforms — she has 1.7 million followers on Instagram — could be generating money for the family.
In recent days, media reports have revealed that despite taking on the persona of someone living the high life in the Hollywood Hills, Lil Tay appeared to have strong connections to the West Coast of Canada.
On May 1, the website Babe.net published a story revealing that Lil Tay’s mother was Tian, who sold homes in Vancouver.
Meanwhile, Vancouverbased South China Morning Post reporter Ian Young traced a red Mercedes convertible that had appeared in one of Lil Tay’s videos to a parking garage at Vancouver’s Oakridge Centre shopping mall.
The reporter also drew attention to another video, in which Lil Tay traipses through a highrise condo purporting that her “toilet costs more than your rent.” The home is actually not in the “Hills,” as is claimed, but overlooks False Creek harbour in downtown Vancouver.
And it’s not her family’s home, but a $3.6 million penthouse that her mom, Tian, had once held an open house in, said her ex-boss David Yang, the managing partner of Pacific Evergreen Realty in Vancouver.
Tian never got permission from the owner to film inside it, he said. “Definitely a no-no.” Yang said the condo owner contacted his office about three weeks ago to file a complaint. That’s when he started checking out Lil Tay’s other videos and discovered that his own car — the red Mercedes convertible — had appeared in a video without his permission. (Tian, he said, drives an “ordinary Japanese car”).
When Yang’s managing broker contacted Tian, she offered to resign, he said.
(A spokeswoman for the Real Estate Council of B.C. confirmed Friday that the council has been notified by the managing broker that he intends to turn in Tian’s licence soon, which would prevent her from practising real estate in the province).
Yang said Tian informed him about a week ago by phone that folks in the entertainment industry were interested in signing her daughter — he didn’t know exactly for what — and that a Los Angeles lawyer was reviewing the contracts.
In her followup texts on WeChat, Tian wrote that she had been inundated with calls and emails recently.
“When fame or notoriety is involved people start to make stories and ask lots of questions,” she wrote.