All while scamming, Teejayx6 always wanted to rap. In his teens, he gave it a whirl. At first, on early tracks that didn't get traction, he was just punching out predictable lines about drug-dealingstuff he wasnt even really doing. And everybody in the world damn near does that. Its nothing to stand about drug dealing. So he pivoted to putting his scams on the tracks, and he became a part of a wave.

Charting the scam rap scenes rise, Vices Ryan Bassil points to Detroit as the nexus, Bossman Rich as the progenitor, and Bossmans 2017 track Juggin Aint Dead as the index case. Writing about the scene at Pitchfork, Alphonse Pierre paid respect to the more obscure bits of the internet from which these dudes draw inspiration: Every Detroit rapper definitely prefers Ask.com over Google. Scam rap has become a small media darling. Maybe thats because it sounds made-up. Or maybe thats because its so particular. In its insularity, and its strangeness, and its fledgling-ness, theres a very appealing purity.

For me, Teejayx6 stands out from the scene. Hes more audacious and more single-minded. Bar after bar are lessonsliteral details of his own (alleged? alleged-ish?) scammery. He blurs the lines as much as possible. On his Instagram, hes offered to sell verses (at $500 a pop) and scam tutorials (at a much more reasonable $25 per).

At a so-called scammer convention in New York, as Pitchfork's Pierre reported, a kid with two iPhone 10s told Teejayx6, with apparent sincerity, I wouldnt have this sauce without you. One of the top comments on Teejayx6s video for Apple reads, This aint even a song this just a felony with a beat.

You know how lifer comedy writers end up so inured to standard misfortune that they can only laugh at the saddest, darkest shit? I would have to admit theres an element of that operating here, with love for Teejayx6. The dude is just so, so weird. At times, Teejayx6 free-associates himself into very unexpected places. On Violin, he brags, I know the terrorists who did 9/11 back in New York. On Twitter, hes teased a future lyric: My uncle said in World War2 he shot at a T-Rex.

But through it all, his tracks pack an unexpected hookiness. Since I first heard Dark Web a few months back, its opening linesThe government tried to ban me from the dark web / I downloaded Tor Browser then got back inhave been on a near-constant loop inside of my head.

Sometimes, Teejayx6 raps about scamming people and places who most certainly deserve it. Walmart, for one. The New England Patriots Tom Brady, for another. Teejayx6 has a more nihilistic streak, though. Other victims of his scams have supposedly included tenuously employed forward Carmelo Anthony, his barber, his grandma, and a little kid who he think[s] is Arthur.

Do you ever, like, feel bad? I ask Teejayx6.

Sometimes, he says. It depends on the situation. Like around Christmas last year, a lot of people were telling me I was taking their last money for Christmas gifts. Thats really the only time I was feeling bad.

So you wont do that again?

He says he most certainly will be doing that again. Im picking up new scams every day, he adds. Fans and peers send him tips and ideas. I get a lot of DMs every day and a lot of people coming up to me.

But wait. Even with the Christmas money people. You dont feel bad?

Let me ask you a question, he says. You think Donald Trump scammed his way into office?

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Teejayx6 Will Steal Your Identityand Rap About It - WIRED