'Thankful for the opportunity': Milwaukee rappers J.P., 414BigFrank mark Summerfest debuts
Hip-hop artists and Milwaukee natives J.P. and 414BigFrank made their Summerfest debuts Saturday night as opening acts at the American Family Insurance Amphitheater for the main headliner: rap superstar Lil Uzi Vert.
The July 6 show also featured other popular artists such as Lil Yachty, JID and Rico Nasty.
J.P. (real name Josiah Gillie) had his breakthrough last year with his song "Juicey Ahhh," which brought him attention before releasing his second hit song "Bad Bitty" this year.
414BigFrank (real name Frank Lee) is known for his viral comedic videos on social media. He decided to pursue a music career, which resulted in his breakthrough single "Eat Her Up."
The two hit the stage performing at 6:30 p.m. during the last day of the big festival. Milwaukee's Djay Mando and Milwaukee rappers SteveDaStoner and Mook G joined them on stage.
Here's what you need to know about the two rising Milwaukee artists:
J.P.
J.P. was surrounded by music growing up, and a lot of his musical inspiration came from his family.
"It inspired me a lot. I learned a lot from my family. With singing, my late auntie, she was real good at singing so I used to sing with her, and my grandma used to sing so it just came as second nature. I grew up watching a lot of musicals and things of that nature."
During the off-season — he was a basketball player at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point — J.P. focused on his music. He shared his music online on his social media pages, with a lot of his videos going viral.
On his breakthrough song "Bad Bitty," J.P. is still humbled by the experience.
"I was extremely humble and glad to be in this position. I am extremely fortunate because I know there's a lot of rappers before me from Milwaukee who have been rapping way longer than me and still haven't really caught their break yet, but I'm glad I could be fortunate enough to start rapping about a year and a half ago and then be in this position."
After a well-received show at the Rave this year, the Milwaukee native was given the chance to make his Summerfest debut for Lil Uzi Vert.
"I was extremely humble, extremely grateful, to get the opportunity to open up in my city at Summerfest — arguably one of the biggest festivals that happens every year in the city of Milwaukee, so I was thankful to able to be put on the platform and be put in front of the city, especially after being a kid that goes to Summerfest — I'm just thankful for the opportunity."
J.P. said it's amazing Milwaukee is starting to receive mainstream recognition for its music.
"I think it's amazing — definitely a drive in the right direction for the city of Milwaukee. There's talent here; there isn't just bad stuff here," J.P. said.
"I'm glad everyone's starting to get their recognition here, whether that's music, whether that's content, whether that's comedy, or motivation videos, shout-out to them. I think it's about time that we leave positive marks on the industry."
On his future, J.P. said he hopes to perform at other festivals such as Rolling Loud and Coachella. He also has a goal to perform at Milwaukee's Fiserv Forum.
"I'm real excited to see where my career goes. Especially knowing that I got here so fast, things started taking off for me five months ago, and we're only five months in and it's still great."
J.P. will be back at the Rave on Aug. 3 opening for Florida rapper BossMan Dlow. The show also will feature Milwaukee artist including SteveDaStoner and Milwaukee's DJay Mando.
414BigFrank
Born and raised on Milwaukee's north side, Big Frank was inspired by watching music videos at an early age, citing rapper Bow Wow as one of his influences.
"I used to look at all his videos when he was with Dem Franchize Boyz, rapping for Snoop Dogg, I saw that, and I was, like, 'Oh yeah, if he can do it I can do it.'
"I got into it, but when I started, I wasn't good, it was all bad. But then my mama said, 'Baby, whatever you want to do, just keep striving for greatness. Just keep going and you'll get better eventually.' Now look where we're at."
Big Frank said the success of "Eat Her Up" was a humbling experience, leaving him shocked his music was going viral.
"I'm still humble at the end of the day. I am surprised, though, that another song of mine that went viral, it feels good. It's just a good experience to just keep going, the fans still stick with you. No matter what, they're going to stick besides you. I feel good about it."
Big Frank commented on performing at Summerfest for the first time:
"Even though we performed earlier with what was going on, it's still an experience to share the stage with somebody that's famous, it's still a good experience. We still had fun. It's gonna be shows like that, they're gonna be unorganized and the show must go on, we still gotta do what we gotta do."
Big Frank said he was happy with more success in entertainment coming out of Milwaukee. He thinks working together will help solidify Milwaukee's spot on the map.
"I love it because usually from a town that we're in, a lot of people are in competition or hating on each other and sometimes it ain't gotta be like that," he said.
"Just like how people working in Atlanta, people working in Chicago, people working in New York, they're all working together... It feels good to see other Milwaukee artists get their name out there and getting played and stuff like that because we need stuff like that. We need to get together and come together to be powerful more than ever. Just stop hating on each other and work together, I'm feeling it."
Big Frank is still focused on music, but he's not ready to throw in the towel when it comes to his viral comedic videos.
"I still got the goofy side of me. I still do funny videos here and there, and that ain't going nowhere because how I first started going viral — when I was going funny skits and then I slid the music in, but I'm still going my comedian side as well, but the music's just taking off just a little better than the comedian side. They're getting to know my personality, and my personality is being crazy."
On his goals in the future, Big Frank said his goal is to keep striving for success despite any hardships that may arise.
"My other goal is to just keep striving for greatness. This ain't the end of it, just being in a better position and keep going — just never stop. Sticks and stones will be around and hurt the bones, but you still gotta reach the top to climb that rope."
J.P. and Big Frank have collaborated frequently and released songs such as "Oh shi" and "Fire Bittys Come Party". JP noted he and Big Frank have recorded at least 30 to 50 songs together.
More: Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty and more close out Milwaukee's Summerfest with a hip-hop feast
More: It's a golden age for Milwaukee hip-hop. Here are 15 rappers you need to know about.
Contact Adrienne Davis at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @AdriReportss.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee rappers J.P. and 414BigFrank make their debuts at Summerfest
