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City Girls is an American hip hop duo consisting of Yung Miami (Caresha Romeka Brownlee; born February 1994) and JT (Jatavia Shakara Johnson; born December 1992). The duo originate from
Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, and garnered attention after making an uncredited guest appearance on
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
's chart-topping single "
In My Feelings "In My Feelings" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his fifth studio album ''Scorpion'' (2018). It was released to rhythmic and contemporary hit radio on July 10, 2018, as the album's fifth single. The song features additional vocals by t ...
" in 2018. The duo signed to
Quality Control Music Quality Control Music (also known as Quality Control or QC) is an American hip hop record label founded by Kevin "Coach K" Lee (Chief operating officer, COO) and Pierre "P" Thomas (Chief executive officer, CEO) in March 2013. Its productions were ...
, and later released their debut mixtape, ''
Period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
'' (2018); as well as two studio albums: '' Girl Code'' (2018), which spawned the
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA) Platinum-certified US top 40 singles " Twerk" (featuring
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
) and "
Act Up AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
"; and '' City on Lock'' (2020).


Career

The group's name derives from the pair being from
Opa-locka, Florida Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a ''One Thousand and One Nights'' theme, Op ...
and
Liberty City (Miami) Liberty City is a neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. The area is roughly bound by NW 79th Street to the north, NW 27th Avenue to the west, the Airport Expressway to the South, and Interstate 95 to the east. The neighborhood is h ...
, described by
Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
magazine as "two of the roughest neighborhoods in Miami, Florida".


2017: Early beginnings

The duo recorded their debut studio track, "Fuck Dat Nigga", which was a
diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...
towards their ex-boyfriends for not giving them money when they asked. Yung Miami promoted it through social media and by paying DJs to play it in clubs. Soon the track, which features a prominent sample of fellow Florida rapper
Khia Khia Shamone Finch ( ; ' Chambers; born November 8, 1976)''U.S. Public Records Index'' Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, media personality, and record producer. She is best known ...
's "
My Neck, My Back (Lick It) "My Neck, My Back (Lick It)" is a song by American rapper Khia, released in April 2002 as the lead single from her debut studio album, ''Thug Misses''. Owing to its sexually explicit lyrics, an edited version of the song was released to mainstre ...
", racked up hundreds of thousands of plays. The official music video for the song came out in January 2018 and featured an appearance from rapper
Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...
. Later that year, the track was included in
Quality Control Quality control (QC) is a process by which entities review the quality of all factors involved in production. ISO 9000 defines quality control as "a part of quality management focused on fulfilling quality requirements". This approach places ...
's compilation album, '' Control the Streets, Volume 1.''


2018–2019: Period, Girl Code, and breakthrough

Shortly after the release of "Fuck Dat Nigga", JT was arrested and charged with aggravated identity theft, and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. The judge eventually agreed to push back her surrender date. JT began her prison term in July 2018 and was set to be released on March 1, 2020. While JT was incarcerated, Yung Miami continued to promote the group's music, by saying: "When she was in jail, I was going to strip clubs and I would pay a DJ 20 dollars to play the song. It started taking off." After signing to
Quality Control Music Quality Control Music (also known as Quality Control or QC) is an American hip hop record label founded by Kevin "Coach K" Lee (Chief operating officer, COO) and Pierre "P" Thomas (Chief executive officer, CEO) in March 2013. Its productions were ...
, the duo were ranked as the most popular developing artists of the week, according to the measuring activity across ''Billboard'' charts
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
, the
Social 50 The ''Billboard'' Social 50 is a popularity chart which ranks the most active musical artists on the world's leading social networking services. Its data, published by ''Billboard'' magazine and compiled by Next Big Sound, is based collectively ...
, and ''Billboard'' 200. In May 2018, the City Girls released their debut mixtape, ''
Period Period may refer to: Common uses * Era, a length or span of time * Full stop (or period), a punctuation mark Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (or rhetorical period), a concept ...
'', which reached No. 16 on
Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers are "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new an ...
the same month. ''Period'' also ranked 26th on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'''s 30 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2018. In July 2018, the duo were launched into mainstream recognition after an uncredited feature on
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
's "
In My Feelings "In My Feelings" is a song by Canadian rapper Drake from his fifth studio album ''Scorpion'' (2018). It was released to rhythmic and contemporary hit radio on July 10, 2018, as the album's fifth single. The song features additional vocals by t ...
", with Yung Miami appearing in the music video. In August 2018, they released the documentary, ''Point Blank Period''. In November 2018, City Girls released their debut studio album, '' Girl Code'', which features vocals from
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
,
Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...
and
Jacquees Rodriquez Jacquees Broadnax (born April 15, 1994), better known as Jacquees (pronounced jah-kwees), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper from Decatur, Georgia. In 2015, he signed a recording and management contract with Cash Money Reco ...
. The album debuted at no. 63 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart issued December 1, 2018. The two singles from the album, " Twerk", featuring fellow rapper
Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
, and "
Act Up AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...
", peaked at no. 29 and no. 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, respectively. JT was transferred to a
halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...
on October 8, 2019, 5 months before her scheduled release.


2020–present: City on Lock and other releases

In September 2019, Yung Miami confirmed to
Ebro Darden Ibrahim Jamil "Ebro" Darden (born March 17, 1975) is an American radio personality, broadcaster, and DJ. Until 2014, he was Vice President of Programming for Emmis Communications' New York contemporary urban station WQHT (Hot 97). He is current ...
on
Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...
's
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that the duo planned on recording a new album, expecting to release it early in 2020. On June 19, 2020, City Girls' second studio album, titled '' City on Lock,'' leaked in its entirety online. JT announced hours later that the album would be released at midnight of the same day. The album's first single, "Jobs", was released hours before the album alongside a music video. The album includes guest appearances from
Yo Gotti Mario Sentell Giden Mims (born May 19, 1981), known professionally as Yo Gotti, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record executive. In 1996, Gotti released his debut album ''Youngsta's On a Come Up'' under the alias Lil Yo. He went on to re ...
,
Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat ( ), is an American rapper and singer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud as a teenager. Her song ...
,
Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper and singer. He is the lead member and founder of the collective and record label Only the Family (OTF). Durk garnered a cult following with the ...
and
Lil Baby Dominique Armani Jones (born December 3, 1994), known professionally as Lil Baby, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to mainstream fame in 2017 following the release of his mixtape ''Perfect Timing''. *Alt URL* * His deb ...
. In March 2021, their viral unreleased song "Twerkulator" amassed popularity on social media application
TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...
, after 20-year-old dancer Layla Muhammad choreographed a dance for the song. The song had since been used over 1,100,000 times on the platform, with creators such as
Charli D'Amelio Charli Grace D'Amelio ( ; born May 1, 2004) is an American social media personality. She was a competitive dancer for over 10 years before starting her social media career in 2019, when she started posting dance videos on the video-sharing pl ...
and Malu Trevejo performing the dance; however, despite this viral restore, the song remained unreleased as the basis contains a sample from " Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa and
Soulsonic Force Soulsonic Force (also referred to as Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force) is an American electro-funk and hip hop ensemble led by Afrika Bambaataa who helped establish hip-hop in the early 1980s with songs such as " Planet Rock." They were also ...
, which was yet to be cleared. On May 21, 2021, "Twerkulator" was officially released. On October 29, 2021, Yung Miami released her debut solo single, "Rap Freaks", alongside its music video. A sex-positive track , it sees her reference various rappers, including
Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...
, Diddy, and
Meek Mill Robert Rihmeek Williams (born May 6, 1987), known professionally as Meek Mill, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he embarked on his music career as a battle rapper, and later formed a short-lived rap group, ...
. Miami explained that "the song is showing love to all the rappers right now, it's nothing personal. I ameda bunch of the guys who are on top, that's hot, that's poppin'. Nothing is personal, nothing is literal, I'm just having fun". The song debuted and peaked at 81 on Billboard Hot 100, becoming Miami's first entry as a solo artist.


Personal lives

JT grew up in both
Carol City Carol City is a neighborhood in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. The population was 61,233 at the 2010 census. It was formerly a census-designated place. History Julius Gaines, the developer, had originally planned to name it Coral City. Ho ...
and Liberty City while Yung Miami grew up in
Opa-locka Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,463, up from 15,219 in 2010. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a ''One Thousand and One Nights'' theme, Op ...
. JT has said "my mother was an addict" and that "drugs ruined my child hood". At 17, they were performing in strip clubs, night clubs and block parties. Yung Miami said that she loved
trap music Trap is a subgenre of hip hop music that originated in the Southern United States during the 1990s. The genre gets its name from the Atlanta slang word "trap", a house used exclusively to sell drugs. Trap music uses synthesized drums and is ch ...
from a young age, and told ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', "My little boyfriend used to take me to school every day, so I grew up listening to a lot of trap music." Before rapping, Yung Miami was an
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
influencer who promoted her own fashion line.


Family

Yung Miami is the mother of a son born 2013 and daughter born 2019. Her son's father was fatally shot in 2020. Her daughter's father is record producer
Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of New ...
. On August 6, 2019, Yung Miami was the victim of a drive-by shooting after leaving Circle House Studios in Miami. An unknown assailant inside a car with no lights on attempted to fire shots into her vehicle, striking her red
Mercedes-Benz G-Class The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, sometimes colloquially called the G-Wagen (as an abbreviation of Geländewagen) is a four-wheel drive automobile manufactured by Magna Steyr (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in Austria and sold by Mercedes-Benz. Originall ...
in the
spare tire A spare tire (or stepney in some countries) is an additional tire (or tyre - see spelling differences) carried in a motor vehicle as a replacement for one that goes flat, has a blowout, or has another emergency. ''Spare tire'' is generally a mi ...
. She was not injured.


Legal issues and controversies


2018–2020 JT incarceration

Shortly after the release of their 2017 debut single, "Fuck Dat Nigga", JT was arrested and convicted of aggravated
identity theft Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was co ...
on fraudulent credit card charges, and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison. Following a pushback of her surrender date, JT turned herself in to the authorities on June 29, 2018, and began serving her sentence while being held at FCI Tallahassee in July 2018. She was slated to be released March 21, 2020. As she awaited her release, JT was transferred from FCI Tallahassee to a
halfway house A halfway house is an institute for people with criminal backgrounds or substance use disorder problems to learn (or relearn) the necessary skills to re-integrate into society and better support and care for themselves. As well as serving as a ...
in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
on October 8. During her stay in the halfway house, she was able to leave the house during the day to work and visit family and friends. To celebrate her release, JT released a track titled "JT First Day Out". On the song, she shouts out Yung Miami, rapping,
"I been a real bitch way before the fed case / Yung Miami held me down, that's a bitch ace / And if a bitch try her, it's a cold case".
A few celebrities showed to be displeased with the incarceration of the artist:
Trina Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), known professionally as Trina, is an American rapper. She rose to prominence in 1998 with her appearance on the Trick Daddy single "Nann Nigga". Trina has been described by '' XXL'' as "the most ...
wore a T-shirt that had "Free JT" written on it, and Drake posted on
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
"Free my shorty". JT was officially released from federal custody on March 7, 2020.


Yung Miami homophobic remarks

In 2013, Yung Miami stated that she would not want one of her sons to be gay and would beat him if she found out that he was. In August 2018, Yung Miami was among several rappers who faced criticism after the circulation of tweets she had written in the past that contained
homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...
remarks. Following the resurfacing of her statements, Yung Miami publicly issued a formal apology through an
Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
post. Though she apologized, Yung Miami found herself embroiled in controversy once more on November 13 when she doubled down on her homophobic statements in an appearance on
Power 105.1 WWPR-FM (105.1 FM) is an urban contemporary music radio station licensed to New York City. WWPR-FM is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan; its transmitter is l ...
's radio show ''
The Breakfast Club ''The Breakfast Club'' is a 1985 American teen coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes. It stars Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy. The ...
''. During the interview, she was questioned by radio host
Charlamagne tha God Lenard Larry McKelvey (born June 29, 1978), known professionally as Charlamagne tha God or simply Charlamagne, is an American radio host and television personality. He is a co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show ''The Breakfast Club' ...
in regard to her controversial tweet that claimed what she would do if she found out that her son was gay. Yung Miami replied that her previous tweet had nothing to do with the LGBTQ community and was specifically about her son. She said, "I was just talking about my son. I just said that if I saw anything gay in my son, that I would beat him". The rapper attempted to provide clarity for what she had actually meant. She elaborated, "But that's just like when your mama be like, 'If you break my table I'm gonna beat the shit out of you.' That don't mean she's gonna beat the shit out of you, she's just saying it." While she stood by her comment that as a mother she does not want a gay son, Yung Miami insisted that she does not harbor any resentment towards gay people. She explained that she spends much time around many gay people, including her cousin and
hairstylist A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be ref ...
. Commentators throughout social media immediately decried the rapper, saying that her very line of reasoning was homophobic and the comments she made on ''The Breakfast Club'' were hateful and
anti-LGBTQ Anti-LGBT rhetoric comprises themes, catchphrases, and slogans that have been used against homosexuality or other non-heterosexual sexual orientations in order to demean lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. They range from the ...
. It was also emphasized that such corporal punishment is still in practice among some parents who condemn their children's sexual orientation.


Discography

* '' Girl Code'' (2018) * '' City on Lock'' (2020)


Awards and nominations


Notes


References


External links

* {{Authority control 2017 establishments in Florida African-American girl groups American musical duos Capitol Records artists Women hip hop groups Female musical duos Hip hop duos Musical groups established in 2017 Musical groups from Miami Quality Control artists Southern hip hop groups Trap musicians