MILWAUKEE — One Milwaukee rapper has completely blown up in just a year and a half. He has gotten millions of views on his songs and tens of millions of views on his videos. Even artists like Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa have made videos with his music. His name is Josiah Gillie, better known as J.P.
“I make music that make people feel good," he said.
J.P. released his first song about a year and a half ago from his college dorm room. Since then he has gained more than one million social media followers, more than 7 million streams, and 700,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. Plus, he has gotten tens of millions of views on TikTok.
J.P. has taken the world by storm with his music.
“If somebody would have told me I would have probably been like not in a year and a half. But I did always have the faith in myself, and always knew it was coming.”
Along with other artists like Myaap, he's putting Milwaukee music on the map.
"It's not a known city. A lot of people still think this the country. So for people from all over the world and especially those types of people (Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa) tap in with what I have made, you know what I'm saying, that's a great feeling," he said.
While the rap game is relatively new to him, music has been a lifelong love. He grew up listening to R&B and musicals with his grandma, singing in the church choir, acting in musicals, and singing jazz and opera.
Watch the video to about J.P.'s meteoric rise
“I love making music. Everything about me is musical.”
Now, he’s traveling the country filming music videos with people like Milwaukee videographer TeeGlazedIt, dancing on the news with James Groh, and trying to record as many songs as possible.
“It’s honestly just fun. Like the sessions are like there’s no stress. It’s just - we’re just there making ideas, you know. If I need to help him write a couple words for something it’s very easy. He’s very accepting of, you know, criticism," Eli Stamstad, an engineer at Hi-Five Studios, said.
They've recorded about 15 songs together in just a few weeks of meeting.
What makes this even more impressive is that J.P. is doing this all as a 20-year-old sophomore at UW-Stevens Point who also plays on the school's basketball team.
"My coaching staff and even the people at the school were very understanding and patient. They understood what was going on, and they still are - they understand what's at stake for me right now," J.P. said.
He's capitalizing on the chance of a lifetime. He can't pass that up.
“I have an opportunity that is not an everyday opportunity. You don’t just wake up and get these. So I’m definitely leaning more towards the music and actually locking in on that.”
That's why you'll often see him traveling from coast to coast recording and filming trying to put Milwaukee music on the map and making a dream come true.
Check out his music or follow J.P. on these platforms: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, and Spotify.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
