Jorjiana isn’t pursuing rap just to have fun—but she’s not mad at the perks that have come with her rapid rise, either.
“[The smartest thing I’ve ever done was] put fun aside and focus on reality,” she tells Complex during a recent visit.
The 20-year-old has become one of the breakout rappers of 2025, which is surprising when you consider her background. She is from Michigan City, Indiana, a small city of roughly 30,000 people that sits between Gary and New Buffalo. Jorjiana had a rough childhood. Her mother suffered from various mental health issues and her father battled substance abuse addiction, which forced her to live with different relatives throughout her younger years. That didn’t deter her from discovering a love for hip-hop, though, growing up listening to rappers from the adjacent cities of Detroit and Chicago like Juice WRLD, G Herbo, Veeze, Lil Yachty, and more.
She started rapping out of boredom. During the peak pandemic years, Jorjiana and her friends would just freestyle in her car. That led to her experimenting with making songs on BandLab and releasing it on SoundCloud and DistroKid. Eventually, she ended up On The Radar with a freestyle at the end of 2024 that effectively blew her up and helped her become desirable to over a dozen labels. Part of her novelty is that she doesn’t look like how she raps (respectfully). She’s a white woman who wears her influences—midwest rap—on her sleeves. And with reach and viral attention came the calls from labels.
“When I first connected with my lawyer, I told him I wanted at least $50,000 to sign,” Jorjiana said. “He was like, ‘You’re not getting $50,000, we’re going to get you way more than that.’”
She’s keeping the label she signed to under wraps, but it’s clear that Jorjiana is more concerned about building a career that will last rather than taking a large advance for her immediate financial benefit. And she’s been able to maintain an audience because of how she’s able to fit into any production she chooses. Jorjiana has a sneaky deep bag when it comes to finding her pocket over a variety of different beats, whether it’s the head-knocking “ILBB2”—which she premiered on Off the Radar—or the melodic “Elevator Spaghetti.” But what really makes Jorjiana’s music connect is how authentic she is on and off the track. Because of her rapid rise and unique look, some online trolls have thrown the “industry plant” label on her, but those claims don’t bother her at all.
“I didn’t even know what the fuck a ‘industry plant’ was until they started calling me one and I had to Google it,” she says when talking about how she deals with industry plant allegations.. “I couldn’t care less. It is what it is, to be honest. Nobody writes my music. Lil Yachty does not write for me. I don’t have a writer yet, I might start working with one. I’ve honestly been trying to stay out of my comments.”
In talking to her, it seems she is trying to prioritize her mental health and family above the trappings of the music industry.
“I used to think that success was having a good career and a lot of money,” she said. “Having success has nothing to do with money. Having success is mental. It’s all in your mind. If you’re happy and you’re at peace, you are successful.”
We caught up with Jorjiana about going viral, co-signs from Lil Yachty and GloRilla, and more.
What did you grow up listening to? What was the rap scene like in Indiana?
It’s kind of considered a tourist town. [Michigan City] is a small city. I actually hated it when I was living there, but now that I don’t live there, it feels so good to go back whenever I revisit. It’s a great experience. You’ve got Lake Michigan. They’ve got a small downtown portion. The lake’s probably the best part. The beach—they got Lake Shore Drive. It’s in between Gary and New Buffalo. So it’s in the middle of nowhere.
People definitely make music out there, but it’s not like its own wave. It’s right in between Illinois and Michigan. Michigan’s got Flint, Detroit, and Illinois has Chicago. The people who do make music out there probably bite off of what we’re in between because that’s the sound that we hear.
When did you start rapping?
During the pandemic. My friends and I were bored as shit. The pandemic kicked us out of school, nowhere to go. We started going to the studio. They called themselves rappers, and then they pushed it onto me. We would be in the car freestyling, and they would beg me to freestyle. I would do it, and they were like, “This shit hard. You got to make a song.” I made a song, and then it was kind of up from there. They all made music, so I was bound to try it, and I’ve always been a fan of music. So regardless, it was bound to happen one day.
How did where you grew up influence how you rap now?
I think it’s based on what you listen to. And me, being raised in between Chicago and Michigan, I listen to a lot of Chicago music. I think that’s what I gravitate to when I listen to drill or rap music. So I feel like that’s kind of what influenced my flow a little bit.
What artists in particular out of Chicago or Detroit were you listening to?
In high school, middle school, I listened to a lot of Juice WRLD, G Herbo, Polo G, the classics of Chicago. And then for Michigan, I listen to a lot of Rio [da Young OG], Louie Ray, Veeze, Icewear Vezzo, Babyface Ray, Lil Yachty.
How did you decide on the label you wanted to sign to?
So I’m blowing up on TikTok, and then I do my On The Radar, and then within one week of blowing up, 30 labels hit me up, I have the list written down. I get an entertainment lawyer. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I have artists reaching out to me, telling me to reach out if I need any advice. I respect them and I appreciate them because a few artists did that, and they definitely helped through the process. I could have made the wrong decision if I didn’t listen to them. A week goes by, all the labels hit me up, and then I have my first label trip. I was sending everybody off because I’m scared to fly. I’ve never flown before. But one offered to fly me out [to LA]. I’ve never been to LA—seems like a great time. I go, had a great time with them. I still connect with some of them to this day, but I pass on the offer. I went back home, and decided that I was going to go take another trip to meet some more labels. I went to New York, I met with some more, then I went back home. I made my decision within a month. I waited like a month and a half to sign my deal. I didn’t want to wait too long, and I didn’t want to sign fast as fuck, just fast to get the money. My first offer was bullshit. My first offer was $15,000 in a marketing and recording budget split in half, no advance. I ended up with some crazy shit.
How did you make the decision instead of taking the first offer you got?
When I first connected with my lawyer, I told him I wanted at least $50,000 to sign. He was like, “You’re not getting $50,000, we’re going to get you way more than that.” I don’t care about the money. I want longevity. So I want the best team that I can have. And if I’m signing to a group of people, I want that team to be able to talk to me. I want us to be civil. I want us to have a connection because the more that I do for them, the more they do for me. If I show up, they show up for me. So I went with the team who I felt I could best bond with and who also do a good job at what they do.
How did you and GloRilla connect for your “ILBB2” Remix?
I was on Instagram and I get phone calls, everybody’s freaking the fuck out. GloRilla was posting videos of herself rapping me and [1900Rugrat’s] song [“Turn You Up”]. I’m like, “GloRilla knows my lyrics?” And then she posts “ILBB2,” her rapping that. And then I think less than a week goes by, and I am getting played a verse by her. I have no idea who sent her the beat, but it was a pleasure working with her too. I’m so grateful because not everybody gets that opportunity.
What is your beat selection process like?
It’s really just whatever I fuck with. I like stuff that stands out. I like stuff that’s different, like weird shit. If it grabs my attention, then I use it.
Who else do you still want to work with?
I want to work with Loe Shimmy again. I really like his music. I’m a big fan of him, and I like the song that we did together [“Deleting Pictures”]. I still want to work with Veeze. I want to work with Chris Stapleton. That would be some hard shit.
What’s your studio process like?
I freestyle everything. I get in the studio with a beat that I’ve been dying to work on. Press play, stand in front of the mic, put the headphones on, and I jump around. I take my shoes off, I take my jacket off, and I jump around, and then I start freestyling. But as I’ve been in New York, I’ve been writing. It’s hella people in my sessions so I don’t want people watching me jump around like a dumbass.
Has that affected your music-making process at all?
No, but when I do write, I don’t write with a beat. I write in silence. I know what beat that I’m using, so I have an idea of how it should sound or how it should fit. But when I do write, I don’t let the beat play because it distracts me.
What do you think has been the biggest thing you’ve had to adjust to since entering the music industry?
Social presence… and interacting with people. I’m not a people person. I’m actually a very anxious bitch. So it is hard for me to have interactions with fans running up on me, and I got my baby, and I’m overstimulated already. Now I got to put on this mask and try to be myself still. And then business-wise, not having genuine relations with people in the industry so we can work together. I don’t like that at all. It’s probably the worst part, and that’s what I’m still adjusting to because I have a very hard time faking something.
How has it been balancing all of that with being a mother as well?
He almost two. He got teeth. He’s been biting me and shit. He just learned how to walk. I missed him walking for the first time because I was on a trip away in Chicago recording. I recently got him a nanny. That’s an adjustment itself. I missed him walking, so being a mother and being in the industry busy as fuck is hard because I miss so much and I feel like I’m less of a parent because I have to focus on work sometimes for the longevity of things. I feel like that’s the hardest part is that I have to miss moments like that. But everybody tells me it’s going to pay off.
What’s your reaction to people calling you an “industry plant?”
I didn’t even know what the fuck a “industry plant” was until they started calling me one and I had to Google it. I couldn’t care less. It is what it is, to be honest. Nobody writes my music. Lil Yachty does not write for me. I don’t have a writer yet. I might start working with one. I’ve honestly been trying to stay out of my comments. I haven’t been seeing industry plant as much. I’ve been seeing more “culture vulture” recently. Have to ignore it. People will hear me speak and still be like, “Oh yeah, this is fake. This is staged. When’s she going to stop?” I’m like, “What are y’all talking about?” They might not understand it now, but they will.
What is the smartest thing you’ve ever done?
Put fun aside and focus on reality. When I was pregnant with my son, I realized that I was not living in reality. I was living in la la land. So I went and got two jobs and cut off everybody. I locked in, went and got my high school diploma. I went back to school. I went and got licensed to be a lash technician. Easiest shit ever to get a bag. I just really locked in. I cut everybody off. And then after I had him, I locked in with music, and I wasn’t having fun. I don’t do parties. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke, I don’t do any of that. I wasn’t having fun. And some parts of that I kind of regret because life is very short. You should enjoy your time, but it’s a really great thing that I did set stuff aside temporarily so I could be in a better position in life. If I hadn’t left alone the distractions, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.
What does success look like for you at this early stage of your life and career?
Most people treat success as who has the most money. I look at success in a different way, because I used to think the same. I used to think that success was having a good career and a lot of money. Having success has nothing to do with money. Having success is mental. It’s all in your mind. If you’re happy and you’re at peace, you are successful. Money means nothing. I lied, it means a lot. You can have a lot of fun with money. It helps definitely, because I’ve had no money and I’ve had a lot of money, so I know how both feel. Having a lot of money feels way better. But if you’re not happy and you’re not at peace, money doesn’t matter. So I would say peace and happiness. That’s when you’re successful.
What’s the status of your upcoming project?
I think I’ve made 45 songs this year. I have projects ready to go, but this is going to be my first project out, so I have to perfect it. I’m really just working to make it the most perfect that I can. All of my favorite songs will be on there. The project is called Loaded Fries, and then I think I’m going to make an EP of elevator music called “I Got Stuck on the Elevator.”
