For rapper Lil Tecca, there was only ever a 'Plan A.' His new album reflects the journey

NEW YORK (AP) — There's the story everyone knows about Lil Tecca, and then there is Tyler Sharpe, the rapper-producer with big aspirations and the dedication to see it through. His fourth studio album, appropriately titled “Plan A,” out Friday, isn't a culmination of his career to date — but it does reflect the journey.

“‘Plan A’ summarizes my plan for life,” he told the Associated Press. “It’s never a plan B.”

The popular narrative goes a little something like this: Five years ago, a then-teenage MC from New York released “Ransom,” introducing the world to his singsong-y, AutoTune-inspired flow and hook-heavy melodies. People loved it, and quickly. As of last month, the Recording Industry Association of America has accredited it eight-times platinum.

A hit at the start of a career is usually a sure-fire way to kneecap it, to burn bright and fast, but Lil Tecca managed to avoid the cliche. He has a loyal and fervent fanbase, and he never let the hype overwhelm him. The music was always first. It's why his last album, “Tec,” which arrived almost exactly a year before “Plan A,” was celebrated in hip-hop circles, with tracks like “500 lbs” and an inspired collab with Kodak Black, “Hvn on Earth.”

For this album, Tecca enlisted the producers he’s been working with since day one — like Rio Leyva, Taz Taylor and the like — to evolve the sound he's spent the last few years cultivating. “My most favorite people to collaborate with are producers,” he says. “We mainly create with no expectations."

Their process hasn't changed much from the early days: Tecca picks a beat and freestyles or writes to it. “Sometimes I might just rap on the loop. No beat, no drums, no nothing,” he says. “The only difference is just sharpening the craft.”

There's only one listed feature on the album — Don Toliver on the futuristic trap-rock, “I Can't Let Go.”

“Don Toliver is fire,” he says, simply. “When it came to having the Don song on there, it just felt like the perfect moment, honestly, for what I was trying to achieve in that first half of the project.”

Part of that goal is transparency.

“This one is definitely way more personal. I'm speaking about things I’ve never spoken (about) like my mom and stuff like that,” he says, referring to the smooth throwback, “MAMA.”

“So I kind of just wanted to let people take another step closer to me, on the personal side."

It's found in songs about relationships and miscommunication, too, like the single “Taste.”

Tecca says the many elements that make up “Plan A” manifest in a few different ways, fashion among them. He's been wearing a lot of leopard print lately; it appears on the album cover, the single artwork for “Bad Time,” and elsewhere. “Fashion, specifically, is just another way I express myself,” he says. “I kind of learned it from going to a uniform school. It’s like those Fridays where you get to wear what you want. You feel different... It's definitely another layer to who I am.”

As for future plans — he's got those mapped out. Video games, film, TV, they're all ambitions. “I honestly want to do everything that I’m into, I want to show my version of it,” he says. “So I’m into games. I want to show my version of what like, the best game is. I’m into movies. I want to show my version of what the best movie is.”

“Mentally, I'm definitely already in the next chapter,” he says.

But for now, it's all about “Plan A.” And he hopes new listeners and his dedicated fans will join him for the ride.

“My music isn’t just about me. My music is sort of just the soundtrack to the people that support me in the world that I put my music in,” he concludes. “My No. 1 priority is to inspire the people that actually believe in me.”

Lil Tecca poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Lil Tecca poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Lil Tecca poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Lil Tecca poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Lil Tecca poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Lil Tecca poses for a portrait on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

ATLANTA (AP) — AJ Smith-Shawver is breaking out as an emerging force in the Atlanta Braves' rotation.

That rotation soon will receive another boost, as Spencer Strider is ready to come off the injured list.

After Smith-Shawver allowed only two hits and no earned runs in six innings in the Braves' 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Thursday, manager Brian Snitker said Strider would return to the rotation when Atlanta plays at Washington next week.

“We're not sure which game,” Snitker said.

Snitker didn't say how the Braves would create a spot for Strider, who threw a five-inning simulated game at Truist Park on Wednesday. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day injured list on April 21 after straining his right hamstring.

The hamstring injury came after Strider had completed his comeback from UCL internal brace surgery on his right elbow on April 12, 2024. He was an All-Star in 2023, when he finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting after going 20-5 with a 3.86 ERA and a major league-best 281 strikeouts.

Strider pitched five innings in a 3-1 loss at Toronto on April 16 in his first game back from the surgery. Then his comeback was put on hold, thanks to the hamstring injury.

Smith-Shawver, 22, has been dominant since his recall from Triple-A Gwinnett on April 29. Though it's not clear how the Braves will make room for Strider, Smith-Shawver has made a strong case that he ranks as one of the team's top starters.

“For me, it's really just been trusting my stuff,” Smith-Shawver said Thursday.

“I don't know if it's more belief or just getting more comfortable with more reps.”

Smith-Shawver (3-2) has allowed one earned run in 19 2/3 innings over his last three starts, leaving his ERA at 2.33. The right-hander took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-0 win over Cincinnati on May 5. Snitker said Thursday's start, which included six strikeouts, “might have been better.”

“Very impressive right there,” Snitker said. “He came out of the shoot firing, boy.”

Smith-Shawver has won his last three decisions and is a big reason the Braves (22-22) returned to .500 for the second time in three days after losing their first seven games to open the season.

The rotation has also included 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale, Spencer Schwellenbach, Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder. Following Thursday's game, Elder was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Right-hander Reynaldo López was shut down for 12 weeks last month following surgery on his inflamed right shoulder but could return in the second half of the season.

Snitker said a six-man rotation is “not feasible” when the team has off days.

Smith-Shawver says he knows the team could face a surplus of starting pitchers.

“Those decisions are always tough,” he said, adding he's just focusing on each opportunity.

“When they tell you to throw the ball, you throw the ball and enjoy it.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker stands in the dugout before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Atlanta Braves pitcher AJ Smith-Shawver delivers in the first inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Colin Hubbard)