When Yung Miami performed their songs, holding it down for the group, she’d often wear a shirt with JT’s face on it, making sure her friend and partner wasn’t forgotten for even a minute. “Honestly I didn’t think it was enough for a project,” says JT, “but we got two platinum records off of it.” Those were, of course, the unstoppable “Act Up” (sampled on Megan Thee Stallion’s “Hot Girl Summer”) and the Miami bass meets New Orleans bounce heater “Twerk,” featuring Cardi B.Īs the songs stormed the charts and City Girls fandom spread, JT and Yung Miami talked every day through the prison messaging system, memorizing each other’s lines and keeping things moving.
They were working against a hard deadline: the same day “In My Feelings” dropped, JT had turned herself in to authorities on a credit card fraud charge - she had to start serving her sentence before the album was done. Instead of celebrating, City Girls were back in the studio grinding on what would become their official debut, 2018’s Girl Code. The message resonated loud and clear with fans who blasted their songs in cities, suburbs, and the country alike. Then came Period, with “Where the Bag At” about getting what you’re owed, and soon after, Drake’s “In My Feelings,” where Yung Miami counters the star’s pining “’Resha, do you love me?” with “Fuck that Netflix and chill, what’s your net-net-net worth?” That line helped cement them as unapologetic feminist icons unafraid to demand their due. JT and Yung Miami introduced themselves to him as being “from the city,” and so they became City Girls. It was QC’s Coach K who gave the duo their name after that cut caught his ear. It started with a diss track about broke boys, 2017’s “Fuck Dat Nigga,” set to a beat built on Khia’s “My Neck, My Back.” Their high-key tribute to independent women also paid homage to Miami’s rap history - pioneers like 2 Live Crew and Trina, while at the same time announcing City Girls’ newness. But thanks to their raw talent, unrelenting hustle, and fearless attitudes, that’s what they did.
#Lil wayne moment of clarity manual
Both loved music but never planned to make it a career, let alone write the manual on boss-bitch anthems. They spent their days listening to Pretty Ricky and Destiny’s Child, and their nights slaying at Miami’s teen clubs. Yung Miami and JT grew up together around Opa-locka and Liberty City, Florida. As Yung Miami puts it, “The City Girls are back - even though we never left.” It’s a clever way to connect the past to present. Lead City on Lock single “Jobs” samples 2018’s “Tighten Up,” and offers up true tales from the artists’ recent lives and struggles, all on top of a menacing beat. “We brought back that Period feeling for City on Lock,” says Yung Miami, referring to their 2018 debut mixtape, and she means it literally. “We talk what we were raised on, what we go through.” They have never censored themselves, and are more inspired than ever to share their own brand of female empowerment and preach its realness to those who need to hear. But City Girls’ ability to stir things up hasn’t been slowed down by their fame. It’s that defiant stance that lifted City Girls to the top of the rap game, sparking interest from the taste-making Quality Control Music, kicking off collaborations with Drake and Cardi B, scoring a handful of platinum records, and winning them “Best New Artist” nominations from both BET and Billboard.Ĭity Girls have done things few female hip-hop duos or groups have managed, and as their momentum continues to rise Billboard magazine chose to recognize them with a cover story as the face of what’s to break in 2020. The new set includes 15 unapologetic bangers, features by Yo Gotti, Lil Baby, Lil Durk, and Doja Cat, and wall-to-wall proof that City Girls are constantly developing the unfiltered flow that listeners fell in love with early on. In fact, she elaborates, “It has every mood you could possibly be in. JT is out of prison, Yung Miami gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, and they’re ready to take over and convert the whole world into City Boys and Girls. They’ve been holding it down for their hometown, Miami, while handling business and managing a few life detours, and now they’ve got the globe in their sights. And for 2020, what they want is summed up by the title of their new mixtape: City on Lock. Their bars are as lit as the lifestyle they’ve built for themselves from the ground up, and they’ve got no problem telling everyone exactly what they want. There is nothing subtle about City Girls.