Lil Tecca is the headliner of Fortnite Festival season 15 which is a “full-circle” moment for the rapper, who got his start trading bars with friends over Xbox Live and was inspired by Grand Theft Auto soundtracks for last year’s ‘Dopamine’ album.
Earlier this week, it was announced that the New York rapper would follow in the footsteps of Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter and Laufey by topping the bill of the rhythm game, which is a spin-off from the popular original Battle Royale format that was developed by the team behind Rock Band. As part of the collab, a number of Lil Tecca songs have been added as jam tracks alongside Lil Tecca-inspired skins, items and weapons.
“It feels amazing. I’m an avid Fortnite player, so this is really cool to experience,” Lil Tecca told NME. “I’m such a fan of the game.” The ‘Ransom’ hitmaker also revealed he most often plays solo zero build – a frantic mode in Battle Royale that requires marksmanship rather than construction skills.
An avid fan of shooter games, Lil Tecca enjoys the freedom Fortnite offers to customise your character in-game. “I’m good at it too, which makes it easier to like,” he said. “Years ago, when things first started going crazy for me and my music, people were using my songs in their Fortnite montage videos – so headlining Festival is a real full-circle moment.”
As part of the event, four Lil Tecca tracks have been added to the game’s massive library of play-along songs. ‘Dark Thoughts’, ‘Ransom’, ‘Love Me’ and ‘500lbs’ are the “perfect introduction” to his music, he said. “They’re the most essential ones; the heavy hitters and the party jams.”
With more than 20million people logging onto Fortnite every day, there’s a good chance many players will be hearing his music for the first time. But he’s not worried about the inevitable ‘what’s a Lil Tecca?’ social media comments from players who don’t know his name.
“I’m always trying to get new fans and introduce people to what might be their new favourite artist, so this is a great opportunity [to do that],” he said. “I also want people that have already been listening to my music to see me, a fellow Fortnite player, in the game and it move them. I want to inspire [someone to become] the next Lil Tecca.”
Lil Tecca first started rapping as a nine-year-old, trading jokey bars and diss raps with his friends over Xbox Live’s voice chat. Five albums later, he’s still driven by a sense of play. “I never want that purity to leave,” he said. “Ego is not on my agenda. I’m just going to keep doing what I came into this to do, which is inspire people and spread positivity.”
As his listener numbers skyrocket, it will become harder to stick to his guns. “You just have to let the universe bring whatever’s meant for you. Have fun with it and don’t force it,” said Tecca. “It takes balance and you really need to maintain a sense of reality. But I’m not worried about being who the next guy thinks I am.
“There was a time where being a rapper on Soundcloud wasn’t cool. So now, I’m just trying to do everything I can to make people feel comfortable [with who they are].”
Last year, he released ‘Dopamine’ – a swaggering rap album that took heavy inspiration from Grand Theft Auto: Vice City’s in-game radio stations Fever 105 and Flash FM. Those curated soundtracks from the blockbuster 2002 game feature everything from modern disco and soul to classic pop as well as jingles from fictional hosts. “That intentional un-organisation was so influential,” said Tecca. “And everything about the game – the environment, the soundtrack and characters like Tommy Vercetti – just made sense [to me]. I wanted ‘Dopamine’ [to be similarly chaotic].”
There is an ongoing fan campaign to get Lil Tecca’s music added to the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6 but he “doesn’t think” he can say anything about that right now.
The album, recorded in his home studio, is a “compilation” of everything Tecca does well – but he has also tried to push boundaries with the project. “I wanted to show people things they haven’t seen from me before, like hopping on those Pharrell-type beats for ‘Dark Thoughts’,” an emotional track about reassuring a partner who’s struggling. “Even though it has sad lyrics, the music is upbeat. It’s something you can dance to. I love that sense of polarity,” said Tecca, who wants the track to offer the listener something useful no matter what mood they’re in. “If you’re down, hopefully it can bring you up. If you’re already up, it can take you higher.”
‘Dopamine’ also showcases Lil Tecca’s personality – and how confident he has become as an artist. “I wanted [the album] to have an identity. The last few albums I’ve done, it was like I created them in the wind but for this one, I wanted to build a world.” Going forward, he wants to make his records feel more like a “cinematic experience”.
It’s why this Fortnite collab has come at the perfect time. “There are so many kids that are making music in their bedrooms, which is the way I started. It’s important to be able to see how far you can take it from there,” he explained. “I just want to be the proof of concept for the next guy, who’s going to be bigger and better than Lil Tecca. This Fortnite crossover is the biggest of opportunities [for me].
‘Fortnite Festival’ season 15 is live now and will run until October 31
