Steve 'Flash' JuonIf Kendrick Lamar wants to talk about Drake being a “colonizer” there’s probably no better place to start than the City Girls. Their vocals form an integral part of Aubrey’s chart topping single “In My Feelings” yet they are not officially credited for it. He shouts them out in the hook. He mentions Yung Miami (“Resha”) and JT by name. Do you get paid for a shoutout though? Hell no. You get royalties when you’re actually listed as a contributing artist. The only way the City Girls could bank off their newfound notoriety from Drake’s hit was releasing new music and performing live concerts, but their new album “Girl Code” coincided with JT being arrested and doing a prison bid, making that impossible.
Putting aside the issue of whether or not Drake owes them anything, we can’t talk about JT’s solo album “City Cinderella” without explaining WHY she’s solo. At first Yung Miami kept the group’s name alive while JT was behind bars, and that loyalty enabled them to get back on track after her release with two follow up albums. Solo cameos for other rappers hinted that the two ladies were moving in different directions though, and when their third album “RAW” performed poorly those seeds grew into a full fledged split. At first it was respectful. Miami explained that “it just wasn’t connecting, it just wasn’t working no more” and they had amicably agreed to go solo. Apparently though Resha thought JT was talking about her on “Sideways” and shit popped off on social media.
“Bitch I ain’t friendly — I don’t fuck wit y’all bitches
Try to take who? It ain’t enough of y’all bitches
Hoes so phony, got me lookin at ’em sideways
It’ll never be the same, motherfuck the old days”
I can see why Miami got in HER feelings about those bars, but JT never actually mentioned her by name, so it could just as easily be her venting about ex-friends from before City Girls existed. Apparently the two of them got on a phone call and squashed it. I’m happy to hear that because beefing on social media is stupid anyway, and if we’ve learned anything from Kendrick and Drake this year it’s that people who take sides online take it too far offline, dragging other people into the drama in the process. Nobody needs to get assaulted, shot at, or worse over some rap bars whether they are “sneak disses” or direct jabs. Miami and JT should each do their own thing and let bygones be bygones. The only people who profit from them feuding are third parties — and if they learned anything from “In My Feelings” it should be to not let other people use them without getting paid.
The “Okay (Remix)” shows JT took that lesson to heart. She’s the star here and bringing in the elder statesman Jeezy as a guest both flips the narrative and puts him squarely in position to get paid too (see Aubrey that’s how you do it). It’s clear that the original “Okay” was already a hit, this is just extending the lifecycle of the track. Let’s not make any mistake about it — sex appeal is part of JT’s strategy too. It always has been. Whether together or as solo artists both City Girls have always been frank about their sexuality, flaunting their assets for the male gaze with lyrics designed to get dicks hard. You might think I’m exaggerating but “DOD” literally stands for “dance on a dick.”
Unfortunately I can’t hear the song without hearing A$AP Rocky’s “Praise the Lord” given both songs use the exact same “Andean Stroll Panpipe 02” sample. Cubeatz, Xander Linnet and Boys Are Rolling flipped it a little differently but beat matching the songs for a mash-up wouldn’t be hard. In fact if you do it send me some feedback to let me know. Familiar samples go a lot further than that though — “Uncle Al” lifts very directly from Salt-N-Pepa’s chart smashing pop hit “Push It” and features samples of the late DJ the song’s named after. I’m willing to bet her audience has never heard “Push It” though and wouldn’t know without me saying so. I’m the outlier here.
It’s cool that JT wanted to pay tribute to a fellow Miami artist who she considered a pioneer and influence, one who also tragically died young before he could gain a larger following nationally and internationally. That’s why I can tell you “City Cinderella” isn’t all about sex — it’s just MOSTLY about sex. I’m not a hater. If you’ve got it, flaunt it. If you can make men jizz in their pants and get paid to do it, get that money. “I’m that bitch, I’m that bitch and you can’t stand it” raps JT on “Servin” and she’s right. A lot of “musty hoe” ladies will let their jealousy show, and a lot of hand wringing conservative will complain about how raunchy she is, but pussy sells whether they like it or not. Frankly they do. “He doth protest too much” is my response if they’re mad at her serving product to her loyal customers. They’re probably customers too.
Hidden amongst the sex appeal are moments like “Hope” where JT gets frank about the struggles to get where she is today. It makes her a more well rounded individual personally and lyrically and more relatable to her audience. “Young, black and lost, but never lost hope.” She could even be an inspiration to a young girl aspiring to succeed in the rap game. I hope JT would advise that girl to finish school first, get her bars up, and not rely solely on sex appeal. That fades in time but having an education and something to say doesn’t. JT is a Dade bitch, proud of it, and she should be. “I don’t take bullshit but I can take the dick” is a fun bar on “90s Baby” but does unintentionally show a flaw in this black diamond — the idea that her self worth can be tied to her sexual prowess.
You’re a queen whether you take the D or not JT, and I hope you know that. If you want almost 40 minutes of unapologetically exaggerated sexual proclivities designed to titillate horny men, “City Cinderella” is for you. It’s mildly frustrating though. Not in an “I need Viagra to keep it up” kind of way, no. It’s frustrating in a “there’s a real intelligence behind what she’s doing” way. JT is much more than the sex goddess she portrays on this record.