True 2 Myself

True 2 Myself is the debut studio album by American rapper Lil Tjay. It was released on October 11, 2019, through Columbia Records. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including CashMoneyAP, TnTXD, JD On Tha Track and Dystinkt Beatz among others. The album also features guest appearances from Rileyy Lanez, Jay Critch, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, and Lil Wayne.^[4]

True 2 Myself
Studio album by Lil Tjay
Released	October 11, 2019 (2019-10-11)
Genre	Hip hop trap R&B
Length	55:57
Label	Columbia
Producer	CashMoneyAP Drü Oliver Dystinkt Beatz Hemmieonthebeat JD On Tha Track JTK VZNARE Nagra Nick Cavalieri Protegé Beatz Relly Made TnTXD Zay Love Ziggyonthekeyboard
Lil Tjay chronology
F.N (2019) True 2 Myself (2019) State of Emergency (2020)
Singles from True 2 Myself
"Brothers" Released: July 9, 2018 "Leaked" Released: September 6, 2018 "Goat" Released: December 21, 2018^[1] "Ruthless" Released: May 3, 2019^[2] "Laneswitch" Released: July 26, 2019^[3] "F.N" Released: August 22, 2019 "Hold On" Released: September 27, 2019

True 2 Myself was supported by seven singles: "Brothers", "Leaked", "Goat", "Ruthless", "Laneswitch", "F.N" and "Hold On". The album received generally positive reviews from music critics and was a commercial success. It debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart earning 45,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.^[5] The album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in February 2023.^[6]

Background

The artists announced his debut studio album on October 9, 2019, via his social media and revealed the tracklist as well as the cover art of the album.^[7] Being asked about the album title, he explained that he wants "to make sure that I put myself first and accomplish what I need to accomplish". To him, the album represents his "next level of success" and as a result, he needs "be true to who I am and focus on that main goal".^[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Consequence of Sound	B+^[9]
HotNewHipHop	73%^[10]
Pitchfork	6.5/10^[11]

True 2 Myself received generally positive reviews from critics. At Album of the Year, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on two reviews.^[12]

Alphonse Pierre of Pitchfork rated the album 6.5/10, stating that the album "is a playlist of soon-to-be singles grouped under the industry-formality heading of an "album".^[11] In a positive review, M. T. Richards at Consequence of Sound complimented the production, emphasizing how the beats are "very pretty second fiddle, never crowding Tjay out but always making their presence felt".^[9]

Commercial performance

True 2 Myself debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 45,000 album-equivalent units (including 1,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.^[5] This became Lil Tjay's first US top-ten debut on the chart.^[5] In its second week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, earning an additional 31,000 units.^[13] On February 21, 2023, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over two million units in the United States.^[6]

Track listing

Track listing and credits adapted from Apple Music and Tidal.^[4][14]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"One Take"	Tione Merritt Alphanso Cole	Ziggyonthekeyboard	2:48
2.	"Hold On"	Merritt João Duarte Jugraj Nagra	JD On Tha Track Nagra	3:09
3.	"F.N"	Merritt Artem Romanov Matthew Bell	VZNARE	3:44
4.	"Dream That I Had"	Merritt Jordan Knight	JTK	2:45
5.	"Post to Be" (featuring Rileyy Lanez)	Merritt Drü Oliver Nick Cavalieri Haley Smith	Oliver Cavalieri	3:09
6.	"Ruthless" (featuring Jay Critch)	Merritt Jason Critchlow Gerail Harvey	Relly Made	4:04
7.	"Mixed Emotions"	Merritt Harvey Jason Patterson	Relly Made	3:01
8.	"Decline" (featuring Lil Baby)	Merritt Dominique Jones Raheem Fennel Thomas Horton	Hemmieonthebeat TnTXD	3:45
9.	"Sex Sounds"	Merritt Xavier McKoy	Zay Love	2:42
10.	"Leaked"	Merritt Tomislav Ratesic	Dystinkt Beatz	3:40
11.	"Laneswitch"	Merritt Duarte Nagra Warren McQueen	JD On Tha Track Nagra	2:30
12.	"Brothers"	Merritt Demetrie Glover Duarte	JD On Tha Track Protegé Beatz	3:30
13.	"Goat"	Merritt Alex Petit	CashMoneyAP	4:02
14.	"Top of My Game"	Merritt Mckoy	Zay Love	2:27
15.	"No Escape"	Merritt Esmerlyn Toribio Ratesic	Dystinkt Beatz	3:44
16.	"Brothers" (Remix) (featuring Lil Durk)	Merritt Durk Banks Glover Duarte	JD On Tha Track Protegé Beatz	3:30
17.	"Leaked" (Remix) (featuring Lil Wayne)	Merritt Dwayne Carter, Jr. Ratesic	Dystinkt Beatz	3:20
Total length:				55:57

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2019) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)^[15] 59 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[16] 159 Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[17] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[18] 40 Irish Albums (IRMA)^[19] 57 UK Albums (OCC)^[20] 22 US Billboard 200^[21] 5 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[22] 5

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[23] 90 Chart (2020) Position US Billboard 200^[24] 70 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[25] 50 Chart (2021) Position US Billboard 200^[26] 150

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[27]	Gold	40,000^‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)^[28]	Platinum	20,000^‡
United Kingdom (BPI)^[29]	Gold	100,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[6]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Goat by Lil Tjay on Apple Music".
2. "Ruthless (feat. Jay Critch) by Lil Tjay".
3. "Laneswitch by Lil Tjay".
4. "True 2 Myself by Lil Tjay on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
5. Caulfield, Keith (October 20, 2019). "YoungBoy Never Broke Again Nabs First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
6. "American album certifications – Lil Tjay – True 2 Myself". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 22, 2023.
7. Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (October 9, 2019). "Lil Tjay Details New Album True 2 Myself, Which Is Out This Week". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
8. High, Kemet (October 15, 2019). "'I'm Going to Take Over the World': An Interview With Lil Tjay". Complex. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
9. Richards, M. T. (October 15, 2019). "Lil Tjay Shines When Acting His Age on True 2 Myself". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
10. Cavaseno, Maxwell (October 15, 2019). "Lil Tjay "True 2 Myself" Review". HNHH. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
11. Pierre, Alphonse (October 14, 2019). "Lil Tjay: True 2 Myself Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
12. "True 2 Myself by Lil Tjay AOTY Review". Album of the Year. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
13. Keith Caulfield (October 27, 2019). "Post Malone's 'Hollywood's Bleeding' Bounces Back to No. 1 for Fourth Week on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
14. "True 2 Myself / Lil Tjay". Tidal. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
15. . auspOp. October 19, 2019. Archived from the original on October 19, 2019. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
16. "Ultratop.be – Lil Tjay – True 2 Myself" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 25, 2019.
17. "Post Malone Returns To No. 1 On Albums Chart". FYIMusicNews. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lil Tjay – True 2 Myself" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
19. "Irish Albums Chart: 18 October 2019". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
21. Caulfield, Keith (October 20, 2019). "YoungBoy Never Broke Again Nabs First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
22. "Lil Tjay Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
23. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
24. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
25. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
26. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
27. "Canadian album certifications – Lil Tjay – True 2 Myself". Music Canada.
28. "Danish album certifications – Lil Tjay – True 2 Myself". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved March 31, 2023.
29. "British album certifications – Lil Tjay – True 2 Myself". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 28, 2021.