Lil Tjay sucks his teeth in dissatisfaction. Sitting on a couch at Sony’s Manhattan office, he’s either shy or aggressively uninterested in talking. When he’s asked about the rappers who shaped his style, a slight clanking of his chain is the only noise in the awkward silence that ensues.

“A lot of older influences,” he answers, finally. “Like Drake, Meek.”

Drake and Meek Mill are both in their early thirties. Drake and Meek are old?

Tjay clarifies that he’s merely talking about people outside of his generation.