Treyway

Paolo Fortades / Rolling Stone

Treyway (stylized as Tr3yway) is credited to Kifano “Shotti” Jordan, a former manager of rapper 6ix9ine (Daniel Hernandez, also known as Tekashi69). Shotti and 6ix9ine are affiliated with the Nine Trey Gangsters, a New York City/East Coast subset of the Bloods. They were founded in 1993, with ’93 apparently alluded to in Nine Trey (trey as three).

Shotti used Treyway when he founded Tr3way Entertainment, which represented 6ix9ine until he parted ways in 2018. Shotti, his associates (including 6ix9ine and others affiliated with Nine Trey Gangsters), and their scene/”way of life” have referred to themselves as and been referred to as Treyway. For instance, on 6ix9ine’s 2018 track “Blood Walk,” Shotti raps:

This is that Black Wall Street
That bad-ass motivation
That Nine Trey gangster shit, baby
This is TR3YWAY

Treyway saw popular attention thanks to 6ix9ine, who also began using Treyway in his music and on social media in 2018 as a shoutout to Shotti and the Nine Trey Gangsters. 

TR3YWAY pic.twitter.com/xCjCdTQdFf

— 6ix9ine (@6ix9ine) August 3, 2018

After a long investigation, both 6ix9ine, Shotti, and other Treyway affiliates were arrested on charges of criminal activity, including racketeering, in November 2018. Around this time, 6ix9ine and Shotti had a falling out. And, after their arrests, 6ix9ine’s album “Dummy Boy” was released … which noticeably featured no references to Treyway, with the exception of “FEFE” featuring Nicki Minaj. That track, which opens with a much-cited “It’s fuckin’ TR3WAY!”  was released prior to his arrest.

Both men pleaded guilty to charges and were sentenced to prison in 2019. In March 2019, according to XXL hip-hop news, Shotti criticized his former collaborator for “breaking every code” and added “Treyway still stands strong. I want that to be known.”