2024 may have been stacked with major top 40 breakthroughs, but Milwaukee artist J.P. snagged a buzzy win for regional rap with “Bad Bitty” — a jaunty lowend song that became his first entry on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. The viral hit, which appeared in Billboard’s weekly Trending Up column, gave way to a remix with NLE Choppa, a minor follow-up hit in “She Took” and an acclaimed LP titled Coming Out Party. 

“Bad Bitty” also thrust the then-19-year-old college sophomore into the national spotlight, opening him up to the countless pressures and unforeseen pitfalls of fame in the digital era. A viral song and near-instant social media notoriety quickly gave way to myriad controversies, including an overstimulating appearance on the 20 Women v. 1 Man YouTube franchise, a leaked X-rated video and an audience who increasingly felt he was “ruining his career” with the antics. 

After dropping a few loosies and a holiday track at the end of 2024, he went quiet, emerging this spring with “My Peace.” Released on May 30 as the lead single from his new Took a Turn EP, “My Peace” — along with fellow pre-release single “Serenity” — finds J.P. moving away from Milwaukee hip-hop and fully diving into the gospel and soul influences that comprise his vocal profile. Crafted alongside a tight-knit team of close friends and homegrown talent, Took a Turn isn’t simply J.P.’s stab at reinvention — it’s the soundtrack to him finding himself again after a deeply depressive period in the waning glow of his initial breakthrough. 

“The biggest goal for this project is me proving myself and showcasing my artistry. This ain’t no gimmick,” J.P. says. “I can cook up a ‘Bad Bitty’ in under two minutes, but it’s more difficult to take your trauma and your past and all the things people don’t want to talk about and put it in the music.” 

Below, J.P. speaks with Billboard about fleshing out his R&B pivot, overcoming depression and making the EP’s title track while on a Raising Cane’s run.

When did you start working on Took a Turn?  

The first song I recorded for the project was “My Peace.” I was in LA when I made that towards the end of November 2024. Some months before that, I fell into a deep depression; everything was going haywire. During that time, I started making the music that I would make when I was younger… before “Bad Bitty” and songs like that. And it literally brought me peace and solitude. I found myself again in creating that music. 

Would you say you built the project around “My Peace?” 

[I built it around] “Took a Turn” because it’s so colorful with so many emotions. It’s one of those songs that’s long, but the time passes because you get caught up in the story and how things build. But “My Peace” was a big contributor to that as well. 

Who did you primarily work with for the project? 

The majority of the people are either from Milwaukee or have the essence of the city. Bizness Boi produced a couple of tracks, and Daniel Church wrote on a few as well. Also, Darryl Bridgeman Jr., Felix Ames, and a lot of people from the city are on background vocals. There’s also this one guy named Kirti [Pandey] from Virginia, and he produced “Took a Turn.” 

What was the most stressful part of your “Bad Bitty” breakout moment? 

Adjusting to newfound fame, because it happened so fast. There’s a lot of people that look at you differently and have hidden agendas. I was doing some wild s—t. I was on some bulls—t. It happens when you give a 19-year-old who just came from college all this fame. I wish I understood how to navigate the way I do now, because I could have saved myself a lot of trouble. 

When did it hit you that things were going off the rails? 

I would spend days in my room; I just wouldn’t leave. I wouldn’t get up. I wouldn’t clean. I wouldn’t do anything. I would just lay in bed all day. I started to get a little bigger, and my eating habits were outrageous. I was smoking more. I had no goals and no vision. The days were just going by. I had three recording trips back-to-back to New York, Atlanta and L.A., and it took those trips for me to really get out the house and see people still mess with me. When I got to L.A., I was like, “I gotta stop this.” Ever since then, s—t’s been turning around. 

From the 20 v. 1 video to that explicit tape, what specifically do you wish you had handled a bit differently over the past year? 

Well, first of all, I damn sure wouldn’t have been in that bathroom. Knowing me back at 19, I probably still would’ve went in there, but I damn sure wouldn’t have had a phone out. In all seriousness, I would have said some different s—t, man.  

I’ve always been a blunt person with an I-don’t-care attitude, but I didn’t realize how much it was tarnishing my reputation, to the point where you can’t even really see the music because it’s so much other s—t surrounding my name. It was affecting the people around me as well. I definitely wish I had taken the media training route, but, in my defense, I started training late!  

Do you think that some people unfairly held your sexuality — or what they perceived to be your sexuality — against you? 

They really only know what I tell them. I don’t like dudes. I was trolling them, but anybody that knows me for real knows that I don’t like men. People gon’ think what they’re going to think of you regardless. I can’t really be upset for real, because I’m the one that went out there and played into it. I’m not a fan of letting other people tell my story. That’s one of the things I wish I would have stayed a bit more intimate about. It wasn’t everybody’s business. 

Your R&B pivot is really grounded in shades of gospel and the blues. Who were you most heavily influenced by? 

I definitely pulled from David Ruffin. I grew up watching The Temptations [mini-series], so he was one of my favorite singers. There’s some Sam Cooke and Al Green in there, too, and some Joe. 

Above all, I really tried to showcase myself. I didn’t want to make the EP one-dimensional to the point where only women or only guys can listen to it. I tried my best to make it as universal as possible. The writing was really intentional. We edited so many lyrics and tweaked so many phrases to make sure these stories line up and make sense 

How did the title track come together? 

The song took four nights to record. The big arrangements and vocal layers in the second half of the song didn’t come in until night three. I was in New York with my brother, who’s also my manager, and my boy Jack, who’s a writer and one of my best friends, and Bridge, another writer. We were walking to Raising Cane’s, and me and Bridge were recording on voice notes and coming up with stuff off the dome. We get to Raising Cane’s, and I show my boy Jack the memo, and the first thing he said was, “I took a turn on the corner of third.” 

I was like, “Damn, that’s cold.” So, everybody started piecing s—t in, and when we got to the studio that night, we came up with the beat right there. The whole process of building the song just made sense. Me, Bridge, Jack and Felix were in there going back and forth; I don’t know what was in the air, but we hit that s—t. 

How’s your time at Roc Nation been so far? 

I enjoy Roc. They do what they’re supposed to do. They communicate, and they’re easy to work with. I got creative control, and that means the most to me. I signed with Equity Distribution in March 2024, and [by August 2024] they merged with Roc Nation’s label division to become Roc Nation Distribution. It’s been a year and some change now, and we’re doing well. We added some new people to the team, and I’m very thankful for their hard work. 

What do you have in store for the rest of the year? 

Imma give y’all some time to digest the EP, but you can definitely expect more music this year. I’m finishing out the year strong and starting the next year even stronger.