To celebrate the arrival of his new State Of Emergency mixtape, Lil Tjay has partnered with public defenders nonprofit The Bronx Defenders in an effort to support New York inmates in the wake of new challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a press release, Tjay will host a “fully immersive and one-of-a-kind 3D listening experiencing” for the mixtape on Twitch at 7 pm EST on Friday (May 8), where fans will be encouraged to donate to the organization.
Tjay himself will also be donating to The Bronx Defenders, which the release notes helped him during his own legal battles. According to the nonprofit’s website, The Bronx Defenders use holistic, client-centered methods to “transform how low-income people in the Bronx are represented in the justice system.”
The organization defends 27,000 low-income Bronx residents annually and, in the wake of the pandemic, has been able to secure the release of over 100 clients held in jails and ICE detention centers, while COVID-19 ravages throughout New York.
Tjay is planning to donate gift cards to The Bronx Defenders’ newly freed clients and their families, as well as masks for the public defenders themselves.
“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, low-income black and brown communities like the Bronx have been hit the hardest,” Bronx Defenders Executive Director Justine Olderman said in the release. “This is a community that depends heavily on public transportation, encompasses countless essential workers and is over criminalized into a legal system that crams people into jail cells where the virus is rampant.”
“We are working tirelessly on behalf of our clients to stem the worst of this pandemic, but we can’t do it alone,” she continued. “We’re so thankful to have allies like Lil Tjay giving back to their community so that our clients can access basic necessities like protective masks, groceries and medicine in this time of crisis. We will get through this if we continue having each other’s backs.”
Tjay’s State Of Emergency follows up his 2019 debut album True 2 Myself. The seven-track offering sees collaborations with the late Pop Smoke, Jay Critch, Fivio Foreign, Sheff G, Sleepy Hallow, J.I. The Prince Of N.Y. and Jay Gwuapo.
Tune in to Tjay’s Twitch event tonight at 7 pm EST here (May 8).