Tay-K, the rapper who went viral thanks to video for “The Race” in 2017, was found guilty of murder and three counts of aggravated robbery, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Fox 4 News. The rapper, whose real name is Taymore McIntyre, is looking at five to 99 years in prison for each guilty count.
In July 2016, McIntyre took part in a Mansfield home invasion that left a 21-year-old, Ethan Walker, dead and another, Zachary Beloate, injured. Earlier this week, McIntyre pleaded guilty to the two aggravated robbery charges, but not the capital murder charge. “It wasn’t part of the plan. The plan was robbery. Not killing,” Jeff Kearney, one of McIntyre’s defense attorneys told the jury, via Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
McIntyre went viral after he released the video for “The Race,” a song partially inspired by a real life event, in June 2017. After cutting off his ankle bracelet, McIntyre fled house arrest ahead of a court hearing for his part in the 2016 home invasion. “Fu-fu-fuck a beat, I was tryna beat a case / But I ain’t beat that case, bitch, I did the race,” he raps on the infamous song. He was subsequently arrested in New Jersey by U.S. marshals the same day of the video’s premiere. The resulting media storm surrounding Tay-K helped the song peak at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, led to a signing with RCA’s 88 Classic, and support from the larger hip-hop community.
While on the run, McIntyre allegedly shot and killed Mark Anthony Saldivar, a 23-year-old photographer in San Antonio, reports Fort Worth Star-Telegram. That case is still ongoing.