Lil Tjay is revisiting the moment he woke up after being in a coma, describing how disorienting it felt to regain consciousness after surviving the 2022 shooting in Edgewater, New Jersey. During a recent appearance on Hot 97’s Mornings With Mero, the Bronx rapper said he had no real sense of time or place when he first opened his eyes in the hospital.
He recalled that a doctor or nurse named Lauren walked into the room and told him, “Oh, he’s up,” before mentioning that he had “not looked so good last week.” Tjay said that detail only added to the confusion, because he did not even understand how much time had passed or what had happened to him.
The Shock of Waking Up
The rapper said the experience felt unreal in the moment, especially because he had no memory of the events that led to the hospital. He described the first minutes after waking as a blur, saying he did not know where he was or what had taken place.
Tjay was shot multiple times in the 2022 incident and later underwent emergency surgery. The shooting drew major concern across hip-hop at the time, with artists and fans closely following updates on his condition as he recovered.
How the Shooting Changed His Outlook
Tjay said the ordeal forced him to confront a reality he had never expected. While discussing the outro track “Do What I Can” from his latest album, They Just Ain’t You, he said, “I never thought I’d get shot,” adding that he used to believe he could do “whatever I want.”
He also said the near-death experience broke the feeling that he was untouchable. “The fact that I took any type of L or anything even happened to me that I didn’t plan,” he said, noting that the moment made him realize he could be affected like anyone else.
That shift in mindset, he explained, has made him more deliberate in both life and music. The reflection gives added context to his recent comments, showing how the shooting and recovery continue to shape the way he views his future.