Jacksonville’s own Tokyo Jetz let loose her debut studio album on March 19, 2021. The southern-bred Grand Hustle representative decided to title the collection Cancel Culture.
“I’ve noticed how over the past few years; we live in this new culture where we ‘cancel’ people for their mistakes and try to take everything they’ve worked hard for away instead of using it as a teachable moment,” states Jetz. “Celebrities are under a microscope so everything we do is judged in the public eye.”
She continued, “But the people who do the most judging make mistakes as well, we just can’t see them. Once I realized the only person who can cancel me is myself it gave me the motivation to go back in the studio and record my truth for myself and for my family.”
https://youtu.be/oMcYeTA5Sd0
Last year, Tokyo Jetz faced significant backlash after joking about the death of George Floyd, the African-American man who was killed while in the custody of Minneapolis law enforcement. Footage of Derek Chauvin healing on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes sparked global protests against systemic racism and police brutality.
Jetz eventually apologized for telling a man on camera “I’m gonna ‘George Floyd’ your m############ ass.” She later went on to say, “First and for most, I want to just apologize to the family, to people out on the frontlines, to people who actually stand up for us. I don’t want nobody to take nothing I’m saying as an excuse.”
The apology vid also included Jetz discussing how she, her son, or another loved one could be victims of racially-motivated excessive violence perpetrated by the police. The Florida native added, “I made a bad decision. I made a joke out of a situation that’s serious as f###. And I promise you anything that you can decide to say to me I’ve told myself 10 times worse.”
Cancel Culture is a 14-track effort that includes guest features by Kevin Gates, Toosii, Tokyo Vanity, and Tokyo Jetz’s label head Tip “T.I.” Harris. An official music video for “YAK” with Jackboy hit YouTube on the same day as the album.
Previously, Tokyo Jetz dropped 2017’s Viral and 2018’s Bonafide. She also contributed to Hustle Gang’s We Want Smoke compilation in 2017 along with B.o.B, London Jae, Translee, Yung Booke, RaRa, Young Dro, Trae Tha Truth, and more.