Lil Tay Makes Comeback After 5-Year Absence, One Month After Death Hoax

Lil Tay is making a comeback after her death hoax.

The Canadian rapper and influencer returned to social media Sept. 30, appearing on a live session and dropping a new music video, "Sucker 4 Green." It marked her first on-camera appearance since 2018 and comes more than a month since she was the target of a death hoax in August.

"It's been five years and ya'll still broke," the 14-year-old said on Instagram Live. "The girl is back. Five years."

In her new music video, the teen—who rose to fame as a child artist rapping about her lavish lifestyle—wears several outfits, including one made up of an orange cropped jacket, matching short skirt and black crop top, while dancing among luxury cars and in between male dancers wearing suits. She is also using a gold-plated flame thrower, flaunting a large wad of cash while sitting beside several others, and throwing bills off the side of a tall building along with her mother, Angela Tian, and brother, Jason Tian.

Lyrics to "Sucker 4 Green" include, "Money, money, money / Money, money, money / I just can't look away from it / I want it, want it, want it."

Also during her Instagram Live, Tay played the piano and acoustic and electric guitars, performing covers of The Eagles' "Hotel California" and Metallica's "Master of Puppets."

On Aug. 9, a post announcing both her and her brother's deaths was shared to Tay's Instagram. The following day, her family quoted her as saying in a statement, shared to TMZ, "I want to make it clear that my brother and I are safe and alive, but I'm completely heartbroken, and struggling to even find the right words to say. It's been a very traumatizing 24 hours."

She added, "My Instagram account was compromised by a 3rd party and used to spread jarring misinformation and rumors regarding me, to the point that even my name was wrong. My legal name is Tay Tian, not 'Claire Hope.'"

The death hoax occurred amid a lengthy custody battle over Tay. On Aug. 18, her mother's lawyers announced on the rapper's Instagram that their client was recently been granted orders that have enabled her daughter to advance her career. Angela, they said, was now the person entitled to sign contracts for Tay.

"It has been years of blood, sweat and tears—this experience has put us in a constant state of severe depression, for myself and for both of my children," Angela told E! News in a separate statement that day. "Tay has had to talk to counselors for two hours weekly. We have dreaded every waking moment with no hope in sight for years."

She continued, "We have prevailed, justice has prevailed, and God has prevailed! My daughter can pursue and achieve her dreams on her own terms, and we are finally a happy family again, together."

E! News reached out to reps for Tay and her dad Christopher Hope for comment at the time and did not hear back.

On Sept. 27, three days before her social media and music comeback, Tay was spotted with her mom and her brother at a Los Angeles airport. "Her return to Los Angeles is a huge step in the right direction and she can now pursue her career on her terms and start a new life," the rapper's management team told E! News in a statement the next day. "She has full control over her social media accounts now and is excited to share who she really is."