City Girls’ JT has dropped the video for “No Bars,” her first new solo single since 2019’s “JT First Day Out.”
The video is dedicated to a friend of hers who died, Monica Suh. It opens with JT in Paris at night in front of the Eiffel Tower. She addresses her friend Monica at the beginning. “I’m in Paris, just like we talked about,” she says, adding: “So this one’s for you” as she pours one out from a bottle of wine for Monica.
From there, the visual moves to a closeup of JT’s lips, and shows her dropping her verses in a bathroom and in what looks like an old prison with blue bars that match her hair. The footage is interspersed with her hanging with friends and fans, and a montage of photos and video of her and her City Girls partner Yung Miami.
“I’m low-key, bitches fuck with my anxiety/I’m prayed up, and I’m waitin’ on my rivalry,” she spits. “I’m the hype, nah, y’all ain’t gotta hype me/I’m that bitch, give a fuck who don’t like me.”
In an Instagram post, JT shared the inspiration behind the song. “’No Bars’ is a freestyle I made in the studio when I was having one of those days, at the time like most of the time ppl were doubting me & questioning why I wasn’t as visual and vocal as others! Not knowing me personally…,” she wrote. “I’d read the craziest things about myself & would want to scream but instead I went to the studio & popped my shit!
“I know most of y’all have heard it but for those who haven’t I hope this freestyle finds you in a great place & is a start of the respect I deserve in music!” she continued. “No more hiding my love for music, I love music! I love my voice! I love poppin my shit.” She concluded with: “It’s only ME VS. ANXIETY.”
The track follows 2019’s “JT First Day Out,” which marked her release from prison after serving nearly two years on credit card fraud charges. Earlier in the week, she announced No Bars Reform to help other previously incarcerated women rehabilitate into society by assisting with resources such as therapy, job placement, social services, and housing, per the website.