Full Stop
JT has the good girls going wild—and yes, we wanna take a ride with a bad bitch. The Miami rap queen talks Japanese denim and nights out with Cortisa Star.
Interview by CORTISA STAR
Photos by KAT IRLIN
Fashion by CAROLINA ORRICO
Scammers, strippers, sitting courtside: JT’s world is crazy, glamorous, and larger than life. Her sass is on 10. Her flow is cocky. She’s experimental, but rooted in her native Miami. Brash and unfiltered in her bars, behind the scenes, and online, the rapper admits her favorite pastime is scrolling her own feed. Fashion has caught on too. She bares skin but will rock a Marni coat, sits front row at Coach, and counts Rick Owens as a fan. A lot can be said about the “City Cinderella,” but she knows herself best. As she reminds us on her debut mixtape: “I’m that bitch ’cause I motherfuckin’ said so.”
Cortisa Star: Hey JT, how you doing?
JT: Hi Cortisa, I’m great.
Cortisa: Period. I was just in Miami and wanted to ask you about growing up there. What’s something that’ll never leave you?
JT: Cursing people out.
Cortisa: Right. What about the style?
JT: Well, it’s pretty naked because it’s always hot: flip-flops, sundresses, tank tops, shorts, colorful stuff, but always revealing, versus New York, which is very layered, like boots and stuff like that. You’re rarely going to see somebody in boots in Miami—maybe two weeks out of the year. We are really designer-heavy, too. Chanel, Gucci, Prada… We’re very materialistic. We’re crazy over that stuff.
Cortisa: My friends say it’s more niche to be alt there too…
JT: When I moved up north, I learned to mix my Miami swag with the New York lifestyle. I also feel like I learned to be edgier, more high fashion in a sense. I’ll probably put on a jacket and be naked under it.
Cortisa: That makes a lot of sense mixed together. I’m going to go study your fits and really think about that now.
JT: Yes, yes. But really my boyfriend [Lil Uzi Vert] gave me my dark, alt vibe early on. He used to put me in a bunch of Rick [Owens] runway on a random day, and a lot of Japanese denim even though I’m thick. I got pictures of him squeezing me in the pants. It’s hilarious.
Cortisa: Yeah ’cause they be tight.That Japanese denim is serious.
JT: It’s very serious.
Cortisa: A lot of girls look up to you and your sense of style, but how do you remind yourself who you are?
JT: I remind myself that I’m JT by looking at my Instagram feed. It’s just so inspirational for me. It kind of keeps me grounded and motivated. I love being myself and seeing my energy reflected in others.
Cortisa: Yes, your feed is so satisfying.
JT: I feel like all the bad bitches and real niggas fuck with me heavy because my music matches me—my confident, cocky, mean energy.
Cortisa: It do. You really are mother, but do you see yourself that way, or more as a rich auntie?
JT: I see myself as mother now, but I’m definitely still rich auntie.
Cortisa: So mother with some nieces?
JT: Exactly.
Cortisa: Do you have a favorite look you’ve worn?
JT: Shit, probably the full Alaïa look I wore to [Indiana Piorek’s] Blood Drain event because it was, like, so scary for me to wear a thong with no pants. I thought my B.B.L. would look crazy, but it looked fire. I felt so confident that night.
Cortisa: No, like, all your looks are so gaggy. I couldn’t even pick a favorite—the book is so large. If you put on your own runway show, what would it look like?
JT: Really ’90s, real cocaine baddies, cocaine boys.
Cortisa: Yes, that heroin chic.
JT: Heroin chic, it would give that.
Cortisa: Circles under the eyes.
JT: Like I just picked them off the street and made them fine.
Cortisa: I love when you do the long curly black buss downs too.
JT: Oh, like my wavy hair?
Cortisa: Yes.
JT: Period, I’ll do that more.
Cortisa: Was there ever a rumor about you that made you laugh?
JT: Rumors piss me off because why do people lie? I think people should be punished for spreading rumors.
Cortisa: I know that’s right. Okay, let’s talk about the music. What are some of your favorite genres outside of rap and hip hop?
JT: I like Dominican dembow. I also love your underground sound, how it doesn’t sound so put together. Your personality comes through in the beat. I try to do that in my music, even though I can’t as much as a mainstream artist.
Cortisa: Someone once described it to me as something that doesn’t look right on paper but once you experience it, it makes sense.
JT: Exactly. It’s not all neat and overly produced, it’s just you talking shit basically.
“Nobody’s really giving their all no more. We want the masses to love us that we just be trying to do anything for them instead of giving it to the people that really appreciate it.” — JT
Cortisa: Are you someone that likes to go out?
JT: Honestly, I’m a fake-ass bitch. I’m the type of person who acts like they don’t want to go, but when I get there, I’m the one who has the most fun. I’m the drunkest. I’m the funniest. I’m the one in the splits. I am such a homebody but when I get to the function, I’m lit. I’m so good with the code switching, like you can take me anywhere.
Cortisa: Party master, purrr. In “Ran Out,” when you mention you met a “cool white hoe in the bathroom,” who is she?
JT: I have so many cool white girls in my life. It’s crazy. But I have to say Gabbriette is my cool white bitch in the bathroom. That’s my girl.
Cortisa: Who’s coming with you to the bathroom on your dream night out?
JT: Don’t want people to take this the wrong way, but fuck it if they do: Solange Knowles, Arca, Joseline Hernandez, you because I’d get to meet you for the first time and see if you really can have fun… Let me think of a boy I’d take too. He would have to be a gay boy.
Cortisa: Yes unisex bathroom, boots.
JT: Oh my god, it’s like, I really don’t give a fuck about men like that. It’s so hard to think of a man. All my gay boyfriends are not famous.
Cortisa: We need to find a nice little punk.
JT: It would be so hard to choose because I’m just, like, a punk magnet.
Cortisa: The herder of punks.
JT: I’m just gonna say my juvies. Period. My juvies, they punks.
Cortisa: Okay, well now we know what cool bitches in the bathroom, for real. We got some cool white hoes. We got Cortisa, period.
JT: Yes, you in the bathroom.
Cortisa: Exactly, looking in the mirror. I feel like a lot of the people who listen to your music love the underground scene. Have you ever been to a rave? Do you fuck with them?
JT: I have, but the one I went to wasn’t intense enough for me. It was sticky and somebody did sweat on me, and I was like, Hold on now, but there wasn’t enough energy. I want to see some dancing. I need to see some crazy shit going on.
Cortisa: Oh, we need to take you to Atlanta. The raves down there is serious.
JT: They be whooping each other’s ass in Atlanta.
Cortisa: Not at the raves. One time I performed at a rave down there when there was a tornado and people still popped out shaking ass.
JT: Let’s go.
Cortisa: What have you been listening to recently?
JT: Let me check my playlist… always Jacki-O; Cowboy Carter; heavy on the Knife. I’m obsessed with “Bimbo Doll” by Tila Tsoli and BJ Lips right now, and Paris Hilton’s “Stars Are Blind.”
Cortisa: Is there a song you know every word to that would shock people?
JT: Probably “Poison” by Beyoncé. What have you been listening to?
Cortisa: I’ve been trying to get into my old 2016 bag. “Kolors” by Monte Booker, “Fireflies” by Owl City.“You would not believe your eyes if 10 million fireflies…” That old song. Some underground baddies: “#Acid” by Jadadoll. She’s been carrying for me.
JT: Oh my god, please send me your playlist.
Cortisa: Yes I will. Also Addison Rae’s been taking it for me recently.
JT: She is so good. I love “New York.”
Cortisa: I was on a plane and downloaded her music, and I was gagging my ass off.
JT: If you really want to hear music, do it on a plane.
Cortisa: Okay, we’re going to swap playlists
JT: I’m going to put you on some real rap shit.
Cortisa: Okay, purr. I do need to get in my Miami bag. The girls down there are so talented. I’ve been fucking with Trina lately, especially “Look Back at Me.”
JT: Oh yeah, Trina is a must. You’ve got to get into Jacki-O though, the queen of Miami. I feel like people digested music differently back then. We really had to anticipate stuff a little more. We had to wait to hear it on the radio or see it in the magazine or watch it on 106 & Park. Now it’s available to go back to anytime online, and it’s fed to us so fast. I came in during the Internet, and after the pandemic it got worse. I really want to get back to my artistic stuff. I want whatever I drop next to be a real life experience, like what I did with City Cinderella, where I had to actually go outside and touch people more genuinely.
Cortisa: Yeah, I agree. I remember the old Kill Bill ads back in the day, where they’d have red paint that looked like blood splattered on sidewalks. People fuck with shit they can see in real life,walk up to, take pictures. Everyone has such short attention spans now.
JT: Yes. But you know what? It don’t be nothing to really look at. Nobody’s really giving their all no more, like we want the masses to love us so fast that we just be trying to do anything for them instead of giving it to the people that really appreciate it. Nobody wants to not sell; nobody wants to be a flop. I think that’s where I’m at right now, making sure that my core is fed, and they can go tell other people about it versus trying to do whatever’s trendy.
Cortisa: I’ve always noticed people respect the authentic bitches more anyway. Like, yes bitch let me be myself—let’s all be ourselves. How would you describe the new music you’re making?
JT: It’s more alternative rap, techno, E.D.M., whatever you call that — like party rap. A lot of hip hop is in it too. Everything is in there.
Cortisa: What else have you been up to?
JT: I’m about to launch 60 Seconds of Beauty. It’s going to be an e-commerce hub for beauty products and information about skin care, hair care, everything.
Cortisa: Why beauty?
JT: It’s just the right time. I’ve learned enough about it; I’m not just trying to sell something to somebody. I feel like it’s clear I’m very into beauty. I’m very into skin care. My hair is always done, makeup always done, and I’m just eager to share more about what I use and what I do. I also just want to learn and connect with dermatologists, chemists, business owners who are extremely talented but don’t have the platform to get their products out there.
Cortisa: I love that.
JT: I’ve also had bad skin. It wasn’t until early last year when I found a Black dermatologist that healed my skin. And I was so happy about it—even though I still have dry patches on my arm and I’m not as consistent as I should be. But I know a lot of people, especially from the South, who struggle with eczema and all types of stuff. We don’t talk about that side of beauty enough. Everything is about glitz and glamour. I want to let people know that just as much as makeup is important, skin care is important. Just as much as wigs and weaves are important, hair care is important, but that’s more of a given. Where I grew up, hair care is more popular than people knowing to wash their face or how important moisturizer and sunscreen are. I want to bring that more to the youth in areas of poverty because we don’t have a lot of resources.
Cortisa: You have such a beautiful heart and mind. People don’t talk about skin care like that enough.
JT: Especially in my community. Like I said, I grew up in a really urban community, and our soap would be like an orange soap bar from the beauty supply store, and it’s just not good for our skin. That’s like if you want to bleach it. And people don’t want to get into it because they’re embarrassed about having bumps and shit. We done started editing our pictures so much that we don’t even really show how we look naturally no more. A lot of people don’t even care about fixing their skin because they feel like they can smooth it out on Photoshop.
Cortisa: You said airbrush, the devil.
JT: Yes, babes. It’s ruining my life. Fuck all of those filters and apps and all that shit. That’s another thing that’s going on with this era: We think that we can edit anything…
Cortisa: Like we can, but like we shouldn’t.
JT: We definitely can. I feel like that’s taken away from the skin-care aspect of things too.
Cortisa: That’s why we need to bring back Polaroid pictures.
JT: I’m not telling y’all to get on the Internet looking crazy. I’m just saying to make sure you get your shit together at home. I don’t play, like I be washing my face, I be moisturizing, I be sunscreening down. And I really see the difference in my glow. I look at myself, and I’m like, “Oh, you look so good.” It’s okay to take care of yourself.
Cortisa: Yes, you got to show that skin some love.
JT: Stop going to them boys’ houses and sleeping in that makeup ’cause your skin is bad.
Cortisa: Exactly. A two-second makeup wipe ain’t ever hurt nobody.
JT: Mhm, wipe that makeup off, honey.Sometimes you need to just be eating healthy, too. That also changed my skin tremendously. If you wake up in the morning and drink your greens, that’ll get your skin together.
Cortisa: It’s true. And I agree heavy on the diet. When I was in Europe, there was barely any sugar in what I was eating, and my skin got clear quick.
JT: Yeah, it will get you together. I got a juicer—I stay doing my juices. I also always eat my proteins.
Cortisa: We need that JT cookbook with your juice recipes next.
JT: Yes. Coming soon. I’m really healthy but nobody would know that about me besides my Snapchat followers.
Cortisa: Is there a rule you live by?
JT: Jeezy got this thing he said a long time ago: “Attitude like fuck it. They hating anyway and I could give a fuck what a bitch got to say.” You just got to have a fucking attitude ’cause they’re going to hate anyway.
Cortisa: Period.
JT: No ass-kissing, just whatever.
Cortisa: Okay, that’s a good-ass rule. I’m putting that on a shirt.
JT: Oh my god. Let’s make the coin.They’ll buy it too.
Cortisa: Do you have any delusional beliefs?
JT: That I’m going to be a billionaire. I say it so much, oh my god. My friend was like, “By the time you become a billionaire, it’s going to be out of style.”I was just like, “I’ll take it, at least you said I’m going to be one.” No shade.
Cortisa: That’s not delusional. It’s happening.