JT (rapper)

Jatavia Shakara Johnson (born December 3, 1992), better known by her stage name JT, is an American rapper. She formed the Miami, Florida-based hip hop duo City Girls with Yung Miami in 2017, and began her solo career in 2023. Her co-performance on Summer Walker's 2021 single "Ex for a Reason" peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and marked her first entry on the chart as a solo act. Her 2024 single "Okay" peaked at number 72 on the chart.

Life and Career
JT was born and raised in Miami, Florida, growing up in Carol City and Liberty City. She grew up under difficult circumstances and said "my mother was an addict" and that "drugs ruined my childhood." JT had grown up rapping with her father and she had first proposed the idea of forming a rap group to Yung Miami. The duo recorded their debut studio track, "Fuck Dat Nigga", which was a diss track towards their ex-boyfriends for not giving them money when they asked. The song was posted on SoundCloud and went viral, leading them to sign with Quality Control Music.

2017–2023: With City Girls
The City Girls released their debut mixtape, Period, in May 2018. In July 2018, the duo were launched into mainstream recognition after an uncredited feature on Drake's "In My Feelings." In November 2018, the City Girls released their debut album, which included features from Cardi B, Lil Baby and Jacquees. On June 19, 2020, City Girls' second studio album, 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, Doja Cat, Lil Durk and Lil Baby. Their third studio album, RAW, was released in October 2023.

2023–present: Solo career
JT's debut single as a solo artist, "No Bars", was released on July 14, 2023. It is her second solo song altogether, her first being "JT First Day Out" in 2019. No Bars reached #1 on the iTunes Hip Hop/Rap charts on the day of release. It placed at #25 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. No Bars also served as the fourth single for RAW. In February 2024, JT released her single "Sideways", which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100. It peaked at #42 on the Top 50 Apple Music USA chart, becoming JT's first solo song to enter the chart.

JT also features as a solo artist on records including Summer Walker's "Ex for a Reason" (2021), the "Queen Mix" of Nicki Minaj's "Super Freaky Girl" (2022), and Kali Uchis' "Muñekita" (2023).

On March 9, 2024, JT announced her 14-show solo tour, starting on March 23 in Houston, Texas, and ending April 27 in Kansas City, Missouri. On March 24, 2024, JT revealed that her debut solo mixtape, City Cinderella, will be released soon, although no official date has been set.

On March 29, 2024, JT and Doechii released their collaboration single "Alter Ego". JT teased a snippet of her single "Okay" as a part of her tour, which later went viral on social media. "Okay" was released on April 26.

On May 7, 2024, "Okay" charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #74, marking JT's first ever solo charting record. An extended version with an extra verse was released three days later to celebrate this and further generate anticipation for her City Cinderella mixtape.

On June 28, 2024, JT released a remix of "Okay" featuring a verse from rapper Jeezy. A few days later, on July 2, JT revealed the July 19 release date for her mixtape City Cinderella.

Personal life
JT has been dating rapper Lil Uzi Vert since 2019.

In summer 2023, JT launched the merchandising retailer and lifestyle brand, thegirljtworld.

Legal issues
Shortly after the release of the 2017 debut single, "Fuck Dat Nigga", JT was arrested and convicted of aggravated identity theft on fraudulent credit card charges, and was sentenced to 2 years 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 in Atlanta on October 8, 2019. 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". JT was officially released from federal custody on March 7, 2020.