The City Girls were reunited this week when JT, born Jatavia Johnson, was released from jailafter spending more than a year behind bars in a Florida prison on credit card fraud charges. She didn’t waste any time in getting back to work, as she unleashed her “First Day Out” freestyle less than 24 hours after regaining her freedom on Wednesday (Oct. 9).
Yung Miami did her part in holding down the duo while her partner was locked up, with the group’s ascension toward stardom and the Billboard charts not missing a beat in her absence. But JT getting out couldn’t have come at a better time, with Miami preparing to give birth to her second child to close out the year.
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Here’s everything that happened to the City Girls while JT was away.
August, 2018 – Yung Miami Appears in Drake’s “In My Feelings” Video
The City Girls notched vocals on Drake‘s “In My Feelings,” which would rule the Hot 100 last summer for 10 weeks and break severalstreaming records thanks to a viral dance challenge that took over social media and helped jumpstart the careers of Shiggy and DaniLeigh. The clip boasts over 200 million views and pays homage to the New Orleans bounce scene.
When Scorpion dropped, Drake saluted the artists that inspired him while crafting the project by posting screenshots of various albums and tracks to his Instagram story. One of those happened to be the City Girls’ Period project, which may have propelled Drizzy to shout-out the Quality Control duo on “In My Feelings.”
August, 2018 – Release Point Blank, Period Documentary
With the City Girls bubbling, they released their Point Blank, Period documentary on Aug. 30. The 23-minute clip gave fans a behind-the-scenes perspectiveof what the pair was really like on a day-to-day basis. Just 11 months after jokingly making adiss track about girls from theirneighborhood, the Miami duo landed a deal with Quality Control/Capitol Records, which set their meteoric rise in motion as the first women of QC.
August, 2018 – Yung Miami Apologizes for hom*ophobic Tweets
hom*ophobic tweets from 2013 began to circulate aroundthe internet with fans outraged at Yung Miami.“Boy Oh Boy. If I Ever See Any Gay sh*t In My Son Imma Beat That Bo So Baddd,” she wrote in 2013. Going back even further, tweets were dug up of hertakingaim at Haitians in 2011. “Haitians Are Black Ugly and Cheesy Don’t Matter What They Have On,” she said.
Miami would then issue a heartfelt apology to those she offended. “My deepest apologies and heart goes out to those who have that tweet and were offended by that. The City Girls appreciate all of their support no matter what their sexuality is,” she wrote. “The comments I made about Haitians I was wrong and immature to even let my opinion about an individual person be my opinion about an entire culture. I love all my City Boys and City Girls PERIOD.”
#YungMiami from #CityGirls speaks on an old tweet that’s been surfacing —
A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) on
I’m completely disgusted. We literally listen to your music and support you but this is what you have to say about a culture of people that literally did nothing to you! @_YungMiami305 y’all only like Haitians when it’s convenient for y’all. Eww as f*ck! pic.twitter.com/eZmU9vE237
— KEYONCE (@_KeniaJean) August 28, 2018
November, 2018 – Release Girl Code Debut Album
Even with JT behind bars, Girl Codewas still released in November, as most of the project was already recorded around the same time astheir Period mixtape. Their debut featured assists from fellow QC associates Cardi Band Lil Baby, and boasts an appearance by Jacquees. Girl Code peaked at No. 55 on the Billboard 200 and hit No. 31 on the chart.
November, 2018 – Yung Miami Doubles Down on hom*ophobic Tweets
Miami stopped by The Breakfast Club in support of Girl Code last year, where co-host Charlamagne Tha God pressed the 25-year-old about her previous hom*ophobic tweets that sent social media into a rage, giving her a second chance to explain herself. “I didn’t tweet nothing about them [the LGBTQ community],” 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.”
She continued to explain that she has nothing against gay people, however, she wouldn’t want her own son to be gay. “I have absolutely nothing against gay people, but I wouldn’t want my son to be gay,” Miami said.“I’m around a lot of gay people all of the time; my stylist is gay, my cousin is gay.”
January, 2019 – “Twerk” Hits the Hot 100
City Girls got off on the right foot to start 2019, as “Twerk” debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 92 with some help from Cardi B. The entry would be the Miami duo’s first in their careers followingthe track beingmade an official single in January. “Twerk” eventually peaked atNo. 29during the week of Feb. 2.
July, 2019 – “Act Up” Tops the Rhythmic Songs Airplay Chart
It was a slow-burn to the top for the salacious “Act Up” from Girl Code standout to the charts. The EarlThePearll-produced record dominated radio airwaves to the point it hit No.1 onthe Rhythmic Songs Airplay Chart the week of July 6.“Act Up” topped out on the Hot 100 at No. 26, their highest solo entry to date.
The rambunctious tune took on a second life with the track’s visual, which featured Lil Yachty in the role of reporter out at Miami’s spring break. It was a fitting cameo since the internet was already ina frenzy from whenthey realized the girl power anthem they were jammingto was actually mostly penned by Yachty.
August, 2019 – Yung Miami Targeted in Drive-by Shooting
Yung Miami was the target of a drive-by shooting in Florida back in August. Miami’s red Mercedes G-Wagon took on gunfireas she was leaving the Circle House Studios during the late-night hours. Luckily, the pregnant 25-year-old wasn’t harmedand left the incident unscathed.
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Just a week prior, the incarcerated Kodak Black blasted Miami during a freestyle recorded while behind bars, as many tried to connect the shootout to Kodak.“I bought Yung Miami a ring, she wanted an 808 baby/ When I see her I’ma hit that bitch in her stomach/ The way I keep my sh*t too real, they say I’m f*cking up my money,” he raps.
Yung Miami explains what happened. pic.twitter.com/QVen3dapf2
— Saycheese TV —- (@SaycheeseDGTL) August 6, 2019
October 9, 2019 – JT Releases “First Day Out” Freestyle
JT returned with the hard-hitting Twysted Genius-produced “First Day Out” freestyleon Wednesday (Oct. 9). The City Girls rapper takes aim at heropposition and makes sure they know she’s here to dominate hip-hop with the legal mess finally behind her. “Left prison with a pimple, not a scratch,” she raps.Wednesday wasn’t too bad for Yung Miamieither, as she was gifted with an iced outfry chain courtesy of McDonald’s for basically being an unofficial spokesperson for the golden arches.
