Caresha Brownlee, aka Yung Miami, is getting vocal about recent struggles in her personal life and career. Yung Miami rose to fame in 2018 as one-half of the City Girls.
Together with JT, they released party anthems like "Act Up" and became a symbol of women's empowerment. However, after four albums, the duo decided to split, and many people have speculated about the behind-the-scenes drama between the former bandmates.
Both have admitted to the drama and say they are focusing on their separate projects. JT just released her album, City Cinderella, and Miami revealed that she is working on new music. But during her recent episode of "Caresha Please," which she co-hosted with Saucy Santana, the mom of two shared that she is struggling to find herself again after constantly being hit with negative comments about herself from people online.
Yung Miami (L) and JT (R)
Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
"You know what it is, Santana, I feel like I lost my personality," she started. "The reason why I lost my personality is because everything is so literally now. Like we can just be at the pool talking something, and the next day, you wake up, and it's a headline and it just goes so deep."
She continued, "It just feels like I lost myself because normally, you know, I used to be on (Instagram) Live all day, Santana. We'll be riding around and call Juicy Crab anywhere we on Live.
"Now, I'm scared to pop up my Live. That's like the other day, we at the pool, I'm like Santana I'mma turn off my Live 'cause I feel like people build you up to break you down."
Aside from the music, Miami became known for her big personality. She and best friend Santana would often get on Instagram Live together and joke on each other and share funny stories, which went viral from time to time. However, she feels that what helped her appeal to a broader audience is now one of the negative criticisms she receives.
"So the reason why people fell in love with me, now it's just like, oh you so ignorant, you so this, and I just feel like I don't have a personality no more, and it just really hurts," she admitted.
The "Rap Freaks" artist also talked about her relationship with Diddy and finally broke her silence about the abuse allegations made against him. While Miami said she has experienced abuse in previous relationships, that was not her experience with the Bad Boy founder.
Diddy and Yung Miami in September 2023
Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images
“I can’t speak on something that wasn’t my experience and I can’t speak on something that I don’t know,” she said after people condemned her for being silent. “I can’t speak on these allegations because I wasn’t around at the time.”
She continued, “I met Diddy when the world was celebrating him and giving him his flowers while he was still alive,” she said. “So I was celebrating him with the world and I just feel like everybody is crucifying me for it.”
In November 2023, singer Cassie Ventura sued Diddy and accused him of rape, domestic abuse and other heinous acts. They quickly settled the next day, and months later, a video came out showing the rapper chasing down the "Long Way 2 Go" singer and physically abusing her.
Miami admitted that their relationship was mutually beneficial and that they did fall in love, but she is against domestic violence, and they ultimately separated.
The 30 year-old, however, was able to take what she learned from the disgraced mogul and apply it to her businesses and her career going forward.
"I think that when you get around people, you see certain things. You should be able to learn from somebody and I felt like I was able to see how should my business be operating," she said.
"I should have a chief of staff, I should have a business manager, I should have all these things in place and that's what I was learning. I took that more of like a learning experience as far as tryna become a mogul. That's why I'm like, I'm a mogul. I'm a businesswoman. I'm not just a rapper like I'm bigger than rap."
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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