For Bazaar’s Possibility issue, we asked some of the most energizing personalities in Hollywood, music, and fashion to model some of spring’s most exciting looks. Among them, rapper JT. See the full photo shoot here, and read JT’s interview below.
For JT—the South Florida rapper who’s captivated the music industry with her songs about sex, success, and yes, a little bit of scamming—life has provided the opportunity to write her own Cinderella story.
Born Jatavia Shakara Johnson, the artist saw a zeitgeist-defining rise alongside former collaborator Yung Miami (Caresha Romeka Brownlee) as rap duo the City Girls. Their unapologetically raunchy tracks provided a more authentic window into the world of women in rap. They even eventually inspired the Issa Rae-produced HBO series Rap Sh!t, which was loosely based on their takeover of the Miami rap scene and later on, the music industry.
When the group went on a hiatus in 2023, JT knew it was time to take a chance on herself, to craft her own anthems and refine her personal style. Her goal: to prove to herself—never mind the music industry—that she was a viable solo act who could not only craft hits, but build a true legion of loyal fans. Enter City Cinderella, her debut solo mixtape, released last year. It immediately produced multiple new anthems including “JT Coming” and “Okay” (alongside hip-hop titan Jeezy).
“City Cinderella is basically me reintroducing myself and telling my story—which is that no matter where you come from, it’s all about where you’re going,” says JT of the underlying ethos behind the mixtape. “A lot of people will try to count you out, and if you’ve had a rough start in life, a lot of people think it’s supposed to stay rough. City Cinderella is just me being a girl from South Florida who had a rough beginning and is blooming and showing a beautiful side of life.”
For Bazaar’s Possibility issue, JT spoke about believing in herself as a soloist, becoming a fashion industry muse, and why women in hip-hop can’t stop winning.
City Cinderella was your first mixtape as a solo artist. How did you feel after taking that step?
I feel excited and I feel grateful. The past year has been a lot of me just taking a step and not knowing what the fuck the reaction would be. But I’ve believed in myself. I’ve learned to trust myself. I don’t want to get too comfortable. I want to go harder.
What was the best part of the response to the mixtape?
To see the community that I created around my project, to be able to gain real fans. I’ve been rapping for a long time, and [City Girls] always had fans, but we mostly had people that wanted to more so emulate the lifestyle that we were portraying at the time. I feel like with City Cinderella, they’ve been able to get to know me and meet me. It’s been amazing toI build more of a fandom and a safe space for my fans.
You’ve been putting in the work for quite some time and seeing recognition for it. What have been some of the biggest hurdles you’ve had to face in the industry?
It’s not really a secret how political the industry is. Sometimes it does not matter how hard you work. Sometimes it’s just like about timing and when the industry chooses to recognize you. I worked very, very hard to get to the place I am at right now, but you have to keep working until they basically tell you it’s your time. It’s kind of unfortunate. That’s the one hurdle that I have been trying to get over, but I’m going to stay consistent until it’s my time.
Do you ever feel like the politics of the industry get in the way of your creative process?
No, because I’m gonna keep it cute, always. [Laughs] That’s one of my strong suits: being really anal about my work and what I put out, the music and the visuals and everything. I never let anyhting get in the way of my creativity. Sometimes I feel like [women in hip-hop] are all meshed into one box when in reality, we are all so different. I’m always like, Okay, wait, hold on now! We all have different visions and different directions. But as long as I’m feeding my fans what they want and I’m feeding myself what I want and I’m making myself proud, that’s all that matters. Nothing’s going to get in the way of what I want for myself in the next five years.
Have you ever had a moment where you felt like you accomplished the impossible?
What I’m doing right now—successfully becoming a solo artist. This is something that a lot of people didn’t think I could do, but I knew that I could do it. And it was seamless! It didn’t seem forced. And I’m not gonna lie, I had my doubts because I’m forever a City Girl and it all felt so scary at first. I had my “what if?” moments but I believe in myself in every aspect of life—even when I was a scammer, I believed in myself. I took that energy and put it into my work and the outcome has been nothing but positive. I can’t let the noise get to me. You gotta ride the momentum.
You’ve truly evolved into a fashion girly. Tell me about your relationship to fashion.
I look at fashion as part of an alter ego. Sometimes I’m just hanging around my house in sweats, and sometimes there are days where I don’t fully see the vision. But when I put everything together—the makeup, the hair, the shoes—I just love it. I love transforming into this it girl. That’s my favorite thing about being who I am: showcasing that as a dark-skinned girl or a short, 5’1″ girl, I’m still booked and busy and getting respect in the fashion industry. I’m having so much fun learning and growing because [the fashion industry] teaches me so much every day, and I’m just a student of the game. I’m not the most tall or slender girl or nothing like that, but I’m having a good time.
Speaking of visuals, your fans were loving your annual birthday photoshoot.
You want to know a funny thing about my birthday shoot? I almost didn’t do it. And I’ve been doing it for four years now. I planned this crazy shoot and I flew someone all the way from Paris to shoot it, and it just didn’t come out the way I wanted it. Then I lost my brother in the midst of that. So I decided that I wasn’t going to do it, that I’d just wasted a ton of money. But then I thought about my fans and how they always anticipate that day—December 3rd!—so I reshot the whole thing in a little studio in Brooklyn on December 2 and put the photos out the next day. That’s another thing I enjoy about art—it doesn’t have to be a big production to come out beautiful.
How you would describe this moment in hip-hop, especially as someone who’s part of the massive rise of new female artists in rap.
It’s beautiful to see so many authentic girls win. None of us are perfect or come from perfect backgrounds, but the fact that all of us are getting to shine, to make money at the level we are making money, to be associated with big brands—it’s just so cool. We’re not being judged; we’re being seen in this beautiful light. And we’re all representing for…I won’t say girls in the hood but…the hood! North, South, East, West—everybody’s representing. But I think the South is running it, of course—the South always wins. [Laughs]
What do you think has been your personal greatest contribution to the culture so far?
That is a deep question. I don’t want to say the wrong thing because I am not Michelle Obama! But I think that when the City Girls first came out, we brought real authenticity back. Real personality and real lingo—I think that’s what we brought.
What are you excited for in the year ahead?
I want to experiment more with my beat selections. I want to just elevate myself musically. I don’t want to stay in a box. I want to just do the unthinkable this year—I wanna have an unthinkable year! I want people to love it, hate it, be into it, be not into it. I just don’t want to be safe. I want to be radical and fun and be the most ghetto rock star I could ever be.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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