JT fans praise rapper for ‘giving trans women their flowers’ in latest hit single ‘No Bars’
American rapper JT has proved she is a trans ally through the lyrics of her latest single.
JT – whose full name is Jatavia Shakara Johnson – is best known as one half of the City Girls hip hop duo. Now, she is carving out her own path within the music industry with solo single “No Bars”, which came out last month.
Unlike her City Girls partner, bisexual artist Yung Miami, who has a complicated past with homophobic comments and accusations of queerbaiting, JT is pulling no punches when it comes to her LGBTQ+ allyship.
“No Bars”, which comes with an accompanying freestyle music video, features the line: “B***hеs on my d**k, pretty like a transgendеr/Sit this p***y on his chin in a chinchilla.”
JT offered an explanation for the lyrics in an interview with Genius Verified last week.
“I just wanted to, out loud, give transgender women their flowers. They t***ies be sitting up. Their faces are beautiful. The makeup ideas and how hard they go for their beauty, I love it,” she said.
Among the usual transphobic trolls on social media, fans have hailed JT as “mother” for her support of trans women.
“The only cis women I can rock with are the ones who are otherworldly beautiful and kind and actively uplifting of trans women. Honorary dolls for real,” one trans fan wrote.
Another said: “She’s one of the only artists to publically give flowers to trans girlies for being gorgeous, and appreciating their beauty and femininity.”
JT joins a growing number of celebrities vocally standing up for the transgender community as both the US and UK propose anti-trans legislation. In recent months, public figures such as Jamie Lee Curtis, Gabrielle Union and Spice Girls legend Emma Bunton have all spoken up for trans rights.
In July, folk-rock singer Hozier perfectly laid out why he was a trans ally. “If you believe in a free and open society, part of that is respecting and supporting your fellow citizens’ rights to be who they are,” he told Metro.
Elsewhere, during her Renaissance world tour, Beyoncé loudly proclaimed “trans is beautiful” to a cheering crowd after spotting a fan holding a sign with the phrase written on in it. #TransIsBeautiful was a hashtag launched by transgender actress Laverne Cox in 2015.
And earlier this year, Taylor Swift championed trans visibility after casting transgender model Laith Ashley, who she “adored working with”, as her love interest in the video for “Lavender Haze”.
Meanwhile, Grammy-Award-winning trans artist Kim Petras released her debut studio album Feed the Beast in June. The record saw her working with music industry giant Nicki Minaj on hit single “Alone”.