Tay-K Releases MonstersUnderMyBed, an Album Created Behind Bars

Tay-K has released his first full-length project since 2017, and the circumstances behind its creation are as complicated as the story surrounding the rapper himself.

Released November 13 through RR4L Worldwide, Create Music Group and Broke, #MonstersUnderMyBed is a 16-track project developed while Tay-K, born Taymor McIntyre, remains incarcerated in Texas. The album includes contributions from Maxo Kream, 1900Rugrat, Baby Kia, FullyChopped and renforshort.

According to a November 11 press release from Audible Treats, Tay-K spent several years collaborating by phone with producers including John Cunningham and Warpstr. His involvement extended to the project's creative direction, visual concepts and artwork. The cover, based on an original painting by Mr Ewok One and a design by Tay-K, depicts a young figure surrounded by cartoonish monsters, with his hands seemingly controlled by strings. It is a visual interpretation of the album's title rather than a promise of an uncomplicated redemption story.

Among the tracks are 'Princess' with Maxo Kream, 'Gangstalicious' featuring 1900Rugrat, Baby Kia and FullyChopped, and 'Galapagos' featuring renforshort. Earlier singles 'Punch You Down,' 'Erupt' and 'Everywhere I Go' also appear on the tracklist.

The recording process is its own story. In a recent interview discussed by The FADER, Tay-K described continuing to write and work on music while incarcerated. The unusual production arrangement has also prompted questions about the recordings, which his representatives have addressed by sharing raw vocal material. The full technical process has not been independently documented.

That creative output exists alongside serious facts that should not be lost in a music release announcement. Tay-K was convicted in connection with the 2016 killing of Ethan Walker and received a 55-year sentence in 2019. In 2025, he was convicted of murder in the 2017 death of photographer Mark Anthony Saldivar and sentenced to 80 years, to run concurrently. The latter conviction is under appeal, according to recent reporting by Complex and VICE.

Those convictions are part of the public record, and the lives lost deserve acknowledgment. Covering the music does not require overlooking that history, just as acknowledging the history does not prevent examining the work on its own terms.

For Tay-K, #MonstersUnderMyBed marks a return to the album format nearly a decade after #SantanaWorld and the breakout success of 'The Race.' Whether listeners hear growth, confrontation or simply a new chapter in his sound is a conversation the music will now have to carry.

Sources: Audible Treats press release (November 11, 2026); Complex (November 13, 2026), https://www.complex.com/music/a/shawn-setaro/tay-k-first-album-since-2017-monsters-under-my-bed ; The FADER (November 12, 2026), https://www.thefader.com/2026/11/12/tay-k-takeaways-phone-interview-prison-monstersundermybed ; VICE (November 6, 2026), https://www.vice.com/en/article/rapper-serving-80-year-murder-sentence-announces-new-album-recorded-from-prison/ .