Lil Tay Explains Absence During Livestream, Slams Dad & Defends Mom

Lil Tay spoke out for the first time this weekend since her alleged death went viral ... and she's pointing the finger at her dad for her years-long absence, accusing him of a lot.

The former child internet sensation -- who's now a teenager -- went live on IG Saturday, but not before she dropped a new song and video treatment minutes earlier. It's called "Sucker 4 Green," and it seems to be the official mark of her comeback into music.

The video features Tay singing/dancing in scantily-clad outfits and posing in front of a bunch of luxury cars while at a super nice house. She's going on about her love for money, etc.

As for the live chat itself ... it started out as mostly a performance, with Lil Tay hopping on different instruments and covering famous songs -- showing off her musical prowess. Eventually, she talked on camera ... and she was doing her typical foul-mouthed shtick.

Once she got past that ... Tay got serious and addressed the elephant in the room -- namely, where the heck she's been and why she's been making these accusations against her dad.

Long story short, LT claims her dad got involved in her life while she was getting famous several years ago -- and says he successfully gained custody of her for a good while ... a chapter in her life during which Tay alleges she was abused and mistreated by her father, Chris Hope, and his now wife. She alleges physical and mental abuse, among other things.

After airing a lot of allegations, Tay explained the death hoax ... which she claims was her father's doing -- not to mention a person she says has gone around claiming to be her ex-manager. Tay claims this person has been lying ... alleging they're in cahoots with her dad. She claims they wanted to fake her death as part of some sort of crypto scheme -- although the exact details of that aren't clear. Frankly, her diatribe was sorta all over the place.

The bottom line ... Tay says her mom has regained custody and that she's ready to move on and restart her career. LT fiercely defends her mother as her biggest supporter -- and, clearly, Tay herself is onboard with the game plan here ... namely, getting into showbiz.

Now, as far as where Tay's dad lands on all this ... he told us last week that her abuse claims were BS -- and strongly suggested legal action was coming toward whoever was putting his kid up to this. Sounds like there's some unsettled business between her parents.