Teen rapper Lil Tay has made a grand return with a new music video following a five-year absence and a death hoax.
Lil Tay, whose real name was Claire Eileen Qi Hope, rose to fame at just nine years old after sharing videos and pictures flaunting her wealth and extravagant lifestyle online.
However, the internet personality - who dubbed herself the "youngest flexer of the century" - abruptly disappeared from social media for five years, until August 9 of this year when it was falsely reported that she and her 21-year-old brother Jason Tian had passed away.
At the time, there was a cryptic now-deleted statement allegedly posted on her Instagram, which read: "It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news of our beloved Claire's sudden and tragic passing. We have no words to express the unbearable loss and indescribable pain."
But the following day (August 10), the teenager shared a statement with TMZ revealing that she was alive and that her social media had been hacked to release the inaccurate report of her death.
Two months later (September 30), Lil Tay dramatically returned to social media to address the death hoax for the first time.
She shared a snippet of the music video for her new song titled: 'Sucker 4 Green,' on her Instagram, writing in the caption: "IM BACK...YALL B****ES THOUGHT THE SHOW WAS OVER."
The influencer's new song is pop - a contrast from her previous rap persona - and of course, she expresses her love for money in the chorus, singing: "Money, money, money / Money, money, money / I just can’t look away from it, I want it, want it, want it."
As a nod to her past viral videos, the teen shows off her fortune in the form of luxury cars in a garage while dancing around. The clip then concludes with her sprinkling money off a balcony while standing alongside her mother, Angela Tian, and her (clearly alive) older brother.
Watch the 'Sucker 4 Green' music video below:Prior to dropping the visuals for her new single, the viral star went on Instagram Live to blast the media for publishing stories about her death without verifying the information.
"This proves how much the press did not give a f*** about facts," she said, as cited by Billboard. "They cared about slandering my name. They did not do any fact-checking."
Lil Tay also accused her father, Chris Hope, of coming back into her life to take control of her finances, and being neglectful when she was under his care. She also alleged that he was responsible for the social media death hoax.
"He was trying to sabotage me," she claimed. "Meanwhile, he was working with this other con artist who claimed to be my manager and they had a crypto coin together. Their plan was to fake my death and then promote the crypto coin… These people are frauds."
This isn't the first time the young internet star indicted Hope of being the perpetrator of her fake death announcement, as last week she shared an Instagram Story that read: "My abusive, racist, misogynist, woman-beating father faked my death."
However, Hope denied those claims in a statement to TMZ, sharing: "The person who is responsible for that Instagram post, as well as anyone repeating the completely false and libelous accusation within it, are virtually certain to become defendants in a defamation lawsuit."
"Everything stated is 100% false, and I trust that this should be obvious to anyone who knows me or the long history of absurd and untrue statements made by the various people who have controlled the Instagram account," he added.
Elsewhere in her Instagram live, Lil Tay revealed that her mother, Angela Tian, had regained custody of her after the end of her parents' child support battle in August.
According to USA Today, MacLean Law shared in a statement announcing that Tian "successfully obtained orders for our client that have enabled her daughter to advance her career".
The law firm explained that Lil Tay's primary residence will be with her mother, and the two are free to relocate outside of Vancouver.
Furthermore, the mom was awarded "sole day-to-day and final decision-making powers and responsibilities in the best interests of Tay Tian," as well as the ability to sign contracts.
