Budding rap girlies are arriving en masse, but Miami duo City Girls have re-entered the game with an “elevated” status on their third studio album. Three years after making the great escape on their sophomore LP City on Lock—which succeeded their uninhibited 2018 debut Girl Code—the fearless pas de deux composed of Caresha “Yung Miami” Brownlee and Jatavia “JT” Johnson are back and bolder than ever.
On their new album RAW (an acronym for “Real Ass Whores”), City Girls offer their traditional ratchet, everyday girl rap with hints of vulnerability between songs. Midtempo “Emotions” features Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter Muni Long, who begs a prosperous suitor to “open your heart and open your wallet.” “Show Me the Money” sees Yung Miami and JT continuing their paper chase, as the former dismisses romance and opts for the bag: “Fuck love I be playing wit’ ‘em.” Salacious club banger “Piñata” could make your abuela gasp; JT commands her sexual conquest to shower her in Chanel for an opportunity to “hit it.”
As the Dirty South natives tell it, the provocative ethos of RAW is no different from their trendsetter entry into hip-hop, which has been closely followed by the rising generation of brazen female rappers. “When me and Caresha came out, we came back with that fuck that n**** music. At the time, we got bashed for calling men broke; people were cussing us out left and right, saying ‘fuck them hoes,’ ‘they ratchet,’ and [our music] was just real raw shit,” JT tells ELLE.com. “When we came out, everybody kind of switched up what they were doing and how they were presenting themselves.”
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Recorded in major cities like Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Miami, RAW reflects City Girls’ growth and coast-to-coast perspective between stops at lively night clubs and hookah lounges. “I think on a personal level, we’re not on the same mindset. We’re older, we’re [in] different locations as far…
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