Tay-K, legally known as Taymor Travon McIntyre, has now been convicted of murder twice since May of 2022. A Bexar County jury recently found the 24-year-old rapper guilty of shooting Mark Anthony Saldivar. The tragic killing occurred in 2018. The irony here is that Tay-K himself committed his crimes as a 17-year-old. This reality exemplifies the gravity of his behaviors at a young age. This conviction comes after his first murder conviction of 2019. At the time of Walker’s conviction, a jury found him guilty of participating in a failed home invasion that ended with Ethan Walker shot to death.
The Bexar County jury’s decision in the latest case is a notable sign of hope. This just after Tay-K was charged with murdering a man during an attempted escape from police. Just one month after relocating — in June 2017 — the United States Marshals Service listed him a “violent fugitive.” In fact, they personally lobbied for his arrest at the time. Tay-K’s fame increased after his song “The Race” went viral, which he recorded and released soon after he was first arrested. The accompanying music video has since garnered over 251 million views on YouTube, reflecting his continued influence in the music industry despite his legal troubles.
Tay-K was sentenced to 55 years in prison for his participation in the home invasion that killed Ethan Walker. This conviction builds on his current jail time, recently locked in by Bexar County. In this most recent example, his only punishment for that could be between five and 99 years in prison. He was charged with murder and the jury convicted him. They chose not to classify it as capital murder—that is, they didn’t view it as the worst form of homicide.
Tay-K’s record of legal trouble started at an early age and continued to escalate throughout the years, landing him where he is today behind bars. The rapper’s actions have sparked discussions about juvenile crime and accountability, raising questions about how society addresses such cases involving minors.
Despite his legal woes, Tay-K remains a prominent figure in the hip-hop scene, with “The Race” capturing significant attention and generating substantial streaming numbers. He has since morphed into a more controversial political symbol – the battlefield for the fight of youth culture vs. criminality in America.