"The Race" is the debut single by American rapper Tay-K. It was originally released on

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independently on June 30, 2017, but was later re-released for digital download and streaming by 88 Classic and

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on July 29, 2017. The song charted at number 44 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and is from his debut mixtape, ''

Santana World ''Santana World'' (stylized as ''#SantanaWorld'') is the debut mixtape by American rapper Tay-K. It was released on July 29, 2017, by 88 Classic and RCA Records. The mixtape originally features guest appearances from American rappers Diego Money an ...

''.

Background

Tay-K (whose real name is Taymor Travon McIntyre) recorded and released "The Race" while a fugitive from the police after escaping house arrest before his trial on capital murder charges. Tay-K makes references to this during the song, with the chorus being: "Fuck a beat, I was tryna beat a case. But I ain't beat that case, bitch I did the race." The charges (on which McIntyre was later convicted) stemmed from a home invasion where 21 year old Ethan Walker was killed. The song was later presented at Tay-K's trial on the aforementioned murder charges as it contained details of the murder and his motivations for it. During the chorus of the song, Tay-K says: McIntyre released several songs while on the run from the police, including "The Race", which was recorded during McIntyre's stay in New Jersey and the music video was released on

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two hours after his capture. "The Race" debuted at number 70 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after a large hashtag campaign pursuing the release of McIntyre using the hashtag "#FREETAYK". "The Race" peaked at 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Remixes

"The Race" has been remixed by numerous artists, including

YBN Nahmir Nicholas Alexander Simmons (Born December 18, 1999), known professionally as YBN Nahmir, is an American rapper. He is best known for his singles "Rubbin Off the Paint" which charted at number 46 on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 ch ...

, Lil Yachty, Fetty Wap, Tyga,

Moneybagg Yo DeMario DeWayne White Jr. (born September 22, 1991), known professionally as Moneybagg Yo, is an American rapper. He is signed to fellow Memphis rapper Yo Gotti's record label, Collective Music Group (CMG), in a joint venture deal with Interscope ...

Montana of 300 Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

Isaiah Rashad Isaiah Rashad Joel McClain (born May 16, 1991), is an American rapper. His first big break was performing on the 2012 Smoker's Club Tour with rappers Juicy J, Joey Badass and Smoke DZA among others. He is a founding member of the Chattanooga hip ...

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, and

Key Glock Markeyvius LaShun Cathey (born August 3, 1997), better known by his stage name Key Glock, is an American rapper and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. A protégé of Young Dolph, he rose to fame in 2017 with his mixtape ''Glock Season''. He is s ...

among others. The official remix features guest vocals from

21 Savage Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph (born October 22, 1992), known professionally as 21 Savage, is a rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Born in London, he moved to Atlanta with his mother at age seven. He became known after releasing two m ...

and Young Nudy.

Music video

McIntyre premiered the official

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for "The Race" on June 30, 2017 on the ALL BUT 6 YouTube channel. The song quickly went

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with Shawn Cotton, the owner of a popular rap news page, Say Cheese TV, confirming that it was shot while Tay-K was on the run and became a smash hit. "It's real. Look at the story. It's so authentic. It's real, and he has the story to back up. Rappers talk shit all day about what they do, but everything he's saying, happened. It's like Tay-K was telling us a story. It's like we're little kids about to go to bed, and Tay-K's telling us a story about himself, and he's visualizing it in the video. And it happened. It's all on the news." Its music video currently has over 200 million views on

. The video was also used as evidence at Tay K's trial for robbery and murder in July 2019. He was sentenced to 55 years in prison.

Background

Remixes

Music video

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References