Urban Music Enthusiast

Reviewed 10/21/2023

It has been 3 years since the release of the last City Girls album, City on Lock, so the return of the Rap Duo is long overdue. Since the release of their last album, Yung Miami started a successful podcast series titled ‘Caresha Please’ on Revolt, the Black-owned network by her on and off again partner Sean Diddy Combs. JT has been vocal about doing an immense amount of personal development and self-care, along with nurturing her long-term relationship with the 3x Grammy Nominated Rapper Lil Uzi Vert. 

In addition to the time in between album releases (largely due to Covid 19 pandemic) there is increased anticipation also due to their 2nd album not performing as well as their Debut album Girl Code. This is also due to a rushed release, immediately after the album unexpectedly leaked. Girl Code debuted in the Billboard Top 200 upon release and sold over 200k copies. In comparison, their 2nd album only sold 100k total, selling only 19k in the first week. Fortunately, album sales have not diminished the influence of the city girl aesthetic and mentality, and the transactional dating lifestyle remains desirable and admired by many young African-American women. 

The City Girls 3rd Album, RAW (Real Ass Whores) released on 10/20/23, was also preceded with minimal marketing, as the album was announced the week prior to the release date. The project’s first single is also unclear since the previous singles Face Down, I Need A Thug, and Act Bad were all released 3-6 months prior to the release of the album. Good Love feat Usher was actually released in July of 2022, over a year prior to the album release, and is also on this project. A shorter time between single release and album launch will increase fan attention and overall brand interest and investment. 

Greater harmony between the duo’s verses can improve the quality of group projects. This was not the case in Period or Girl Code, where they complimented each other’s style and cadence more cohesively. Whether this is because they are no longer creating music physically in the studio together or due to time conflicts/different life paths, the lack of cohesion is reflected in the fluidity between verses and overall album flow. In addition, Hip Hop currently is experiencing a resurgence of female rap, and it would have been refreshing to hear features from more new female rappers on this album. The artist featured on this project includes Lil Durk, Juicy J, and Usher and the only female artist featured is Kim Petra, Grammy Award-winning Pop singer/songwriter. All of these featured artists are well-established. With that being said, this was a missed opportunity to share the stage and send the elevator back down to an upcoming rapper. 

As a long-time fan of City Girl music and the overall progression of the brand – new producers, engineers, and mixers on the next project would be much appreciated to elevate their sound. In addition, a better album rollout including interviews to give the fans an opportunity to know the artist’s process and personality outside of the music would be beneficial to sustaining the brand long term.

Easy Listening, The Urban Music Enthusiast