J.P.’s Milwaukee Lowend Anthem “Bad Bitty” Is the Catchiest Song Anywhere Right Now

What’s so refreshing about “Bad Bitty,” and the Milwaukee lowend wave in general, is that it is low-stakes, low-budget, high comedy dance rap. The movement has a lot in common with some of the greatest regional dance rap—from Atlanta to Dallas to the Bay Area—with artists cranking out anthems that seemed like they were made to soundtrack local house parties and warm-weather park afternoons and then took on a life of their own. The uptempo subgenre is distinguished by how heavily rooted it is in specific, hyperlocal Milwaukee sounds of the past; for instance, you can hear Ray Nitti’s emphatic enunciation of “Bow” in his 2009 regional hit of the same name and the lighthearted mood of early 2010s Bankhead and Munch Lauren in “Bad Bitty.”

Part of why “Bad Bitty,” in particular, doesn’t sound ultra professionalized is that J.P. isn’t even a full-time rapper: He’s a college sophomore at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, where he majors in music performance and averages about 12 minutes a night at forward on the basketball team. (After watching a few highlights, I would compare his undersized big man game to that of beloved journeyman Montrezl Harrell.) In his spare time, he makes comedic videos and music, like 2022’s blown-out “Juicey Ahhh” and last year’s Dora-sampling “Get Down.” Neither, however, are anywhere near as good as “Bad Bitty,” because they’re more comedy-rap than rap charged up with comedy.

“Bad Bitty” is fun, but it’s still a real song. It wants to make you dance. It wants to make you fantasize about those dumbass nights out that you and your friends will talk about forever. These days, it’s so easy to come across music that is blemish-free, that is more a display of deep pockets than any sort of creativity, that is made exactly in the mold of what you already like. In comparison, the unpolished, unseriousness of “Bad Bitty” feels like it’s from a different planet. It can be stuck in my head however long it needs to be.