19 April 24 - 30, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Tay-K Gets 80 Years for Murder The rapper, whose real name is Taymor Mc- Intyre, saw his fame rise after he was charged and convicted in a prior murder in Mansfield. BY GARRETT GRAVLEY T ay-K will have plenty of time to eat noodles, but God knows they won’t be good. On Monday, a jury in Bexar County convicted the rapper, whose real name is Taymor McIntyre, on one count of murder. The following day, he was sentenced to 80 years. The charge stems from the 2017 slaying of Mark Anthony Saldivar, a 23-year-old photographer who the Arlington rapper gunned down outside a San Antonio Chick- fil-A. The murder happened during the commission of an attempted robbery against Saldivar, prosecutors said. The killing is one entry in a checkered history of violent crime for McIntyre. In 2016, McIntyre was involved in a home inva- sion in Mansfield, the commission of which culminated in the shooting death of 21-year- old Ethan Walker. For this crime, McIntyre was convicted of capital murder and aggra- vated robbery in 2019 by a Tarrant County jury, who imposed a 55-year sentence that the rapper has been serving since. The aftermath saw the rise of McIntyre’s celebrity. While he was under house arrest in 2017 awaiting trial, McIntyre cut off his ankle monitor. During his monthslong flight, Mc- Intyre murdered Saldivar and fled to New Jersey, where he recorded his single “The Race” and its accompanying music video. The U.S. Marshals Service issued a state- ment on June 26, 2017, announcing a manhunt for McIntyre, who was arrested four days later without incident in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The lyrics to “The Race” were key evi- dence for prosecutors in that case and were successfully used to argue that McIntyre posed a danger to society (“Shoot a fuckboy in his motherfucking face”) and rendered him a flight risk (“Fuck a beat, I was tryna beat the case / But I ain’t beat the case, bitch I did the race.”) Prosecutors also used a scene from the music video in which Mc- Intyre poses with a fake wanted poster with his face, and a March 2017 tweet that said, “fuck dis [sic] house arrest shit fuck 12 they gn hav 2 catch me on hood[.]” (The rap also includes the line “Pimp gon’ be eatin’ good noodles every day.” Since his confinement, McIntyre has also accrued multiple charges of possessing prison contraband, namely cell phones. It is worth noting the significance of Mc- Intyre being convicted of murder instead of capital murder on Monday. In Texas, capital murder requires an in- tentional killing of another human being (murder) plus an aggravating factor that ei- ther involves the commission of another fel- ony or makes the killing especially heinous (for example, committing a murder during a prison escape or murdering someone under the age of 10). Although Texas carries out the death pen- alty for capital murder, McIntyre was a juve- nile while committing his string of offenses, and the U.S. Supreme Court declared capital punishment against juveniles unconstitutional in the 2005 case Roper v. Simmons. This hold- ing applies explicitly to criminals who were under 18 while committing a capital offense; McIntyre was 16 when he murdered Walker. McIntyre’s two sentences run concur- rently (so he will serve 80 years and get credit for both the 80 and 55 years, should he be alive by then), and he has received credit for 2,077 days. ▼ LGBTQ TRUE TO HERSELF VANDOLIERS LEADER JENNI ROSE COMES OUT AS TRANS IN BIG WIN FOR TRANS PEOPLE. BY CARLY MAY GRAVLEY J enni Rose, founder and frontwoman of beloved Dallas cowpunk band Vandoliers, came out as a trans woman in an interview with Rolling Stone on Friday. The band’s new single, “Life Be- hind Bars,” and upcoming album of the same name will document Rose’s coming out journey with the same mix of vulnera- bility and radiant energy that Vandoliers fans have come to love. “For 36 years, I’ve tried to be anything but a trans person, and it never went away,” Rose told Rolling Stone. “I know that there are all these people who are kind of going back in the closet. But I’m going to come out and see what happens.” Trans folks in America are up against an onslaught of hostility. Texas alone has passed a staggering number of bills targeting the LG- BTQ community, with a particular focus on transgender people and drag performers. Sen- ate Bill 12, which criminalizes sexually explicit performances in front of children, was origi- nally designed to restrict minors from attend- ing drag show and still contains references to “accessories or prosthetics that exaggerate male or female sexual characteristics.” Rose and her band are no strangers to fearless self expression. Vandoliers are well- known and unabashed allies to the LGBTQ community, having previously made head- lines for performing in dresses to protest anti-drag legislation in Tennessee. One of Rose’s favorite shirts to wear onstage reads “Protect Trans Kids.” Creating a safe space for fans has been a personal issue for the Vandoliers since long before Rose came out. “The central mission of this band is to be a positive force for good,” Rose told the Ob- server last year. “And even by doing that and by being there for everyone with that mind- set, sometimes it does ruffle feathers.” Vandoliers’ new single, “Life Behind Bars,” is now available on most streaming platforms. Their new album of the same comes out on June 27. ▼ DANCE MUSIC GOT RYTHM, GOT MUSIC? HERE’S MORE A QUICK GUIDE FOR ASPIRING DJS ON BEAT-MATCHING FROM DJ WILLIE DUTCH. BY JASON JANIK D allas has never had a shortage of top- notch DJs, but one has made quite a name for himself recently. DJ Willie Dutch, whose name is an homage to the Dal- las-raised Motown artist Willie Hutch, re- cently received a Dallas Entertainment Awards trophy for his skills. He packs local clubs with his sets, but his greatest joy seems to come from sharing rare disco, soul and R&B tracks with the world. Dutch grew up listening to the classics, which helped solidify his love for a variety of musical legends. “There was always great music being played in my house, from Lu- ther to Al Green, but James Brown’s records are seared into my memory,” he says. “They were special to me then, and I’ve grown to revere them even more.” He soon realized that his love for an un- derappreciated era of dance music could be a foundation for a career behind the turnta- bles. “I wanted to celebrate the forgotten Black artists of the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Dutch says. “I started DJing to expose people to music they haven’t heard but will want to hear again and again.” Dutch spent a lot of time as a collector and listener before eventually sharing his passion with the public. He remembers, “DJ Jules and I had been collecting and playing each other’s records for a while, but we de- cided to start playing shows. In 2017, she got us a gig at Easy Slider, and we both fell in love with turning people onto new sounds.” He’s come a long way since those first gigs. He’s since played other cities, including a memorable gig in Chicago, and various residencies around the Dallas area. He is most frequently pumping up the dance floor at Charlie’s Star Lounge. Seeing as how he’s a master at mixing vi- nyl, we asked if he could give readers an offi- cial “DJ Willie Dutch” lesson in beat-matching. Here’s what he had to say: Step 1: Understanding the tempo of each record is critical on vinyl. There are no cue points or sync button. Knowing a song’s beats per minute allows you to have a base- line for the speed you need to mix at. Step 2: Pick the spots on each track you want to blend together. A long in- Tarrant County Sheriffs Office The mug shot for Arlington rapper Tay-K, real name Taymor Travon McIntyre, who’s facing 80 years in Texas prison. | B-SIDES | ▼ Music Rachel Dodd Vandoliers have advocated for LGBTQ right since long before frontwoman Jenni Rose came out. >> p20
