Lil Tay Custody Battle Looms and Career Path Hangs in Balance

Lil Tay could be returning to the limelight soon, but her future career hinges on a custody battle between her parents that's about to come to a head.

Sources close to Lil Tay tell TMZ ... the foul-mouthed kid rapper is home in Vancouver where her parents, Angela Tian and Christopher Hope, are locked in a court battle for custody of Lil Tay and full control over her life and career.

We're told Lil Tay's parents have been duking it out in court since late 2018, and they're expecting the judge to make some big custody rulings in the coming weeks. We're told they currently share custody.

Lil Tay's future will be heavily impacted by the judge's decision ... our sources say her parents both want her in entertainment, but they have very different plans for her to stay relevant.

We're told Lil Tay's mom wants to let her do whatever she wants to do -- even if that means dropping lots of trash-talking videos on social media.

Perhaps not surprising ... remember, Mom used her boss' Mercedes as a prop in one of Lil Tay's infamous trash-talking videos, and quit her job when her boss caught on and got pissed.

On the other hand, we're told Lil Tay's father prefers the more traditional career path of acting and singing.

In the past, Lil Tay's father has expressed concern about her social media antics and felt others were taking advantage of her just to profit for themselves.

As you know ... Lil Tay has been absent from social media since way back in June 2018, after her father got a court order requiring her to return to Vancouver and stop posting on her Instagram account, which has 1.8 million followers.

Sounds like she could be coming back soon ... so stay tuned.