Yung Miami is a certified bi-con – from the bops, to her unbridled authenticity
This profile is part of Queerty’s 2023 Out For Good series, recognizing public figures who’ve had the courage to come out and make a difference in the past year.Name: Caresha Romeka Brownlee, 29Bio: This Florida-born rapper –– better known as Yung Miami, one-half of unfiltered and bodacious hip-hop duo City Girls –– always knew she was something special. “Before I was famous, I was hood famous,” she told The Cut in 2023. “Like everybody in the city knew me.”In 2017, Miami was doing fine as a working mother.
With a son born in 2013 (and a daughter who would follow in 2019), the 24-year-old influencer stayed busy hawking her fashion line on Instagram.
But when her middle school bestie Jatavia Johnson (a.k.a her City Girls counterpart, JT) proposed the idea of starting a rap group, Miami bought in, despite having little musical experience.After their first track (crafted without a producer, but with a ton of personality) went viral on SoundCloud, the duo quickly caught the industry’s attention and got signed by Quality Control. “We were just playing around and it blew up,” Miami told The Cut. “But we never planned to be artists or rappers or a rap group.”And when life threw them a hurdle, Miami seized the day.
JT was charged with aggravated identity theft and sentenced to 24 months in prison, but the duo worked hard to record a handful of hits before her July 2018 surrender.
