The Real J.T.W. is more than the talk of hip-hop. When you stare into his eyes. You can see the pain and struggle within. Divining into his mind is far from pretty as we take a deeper look into his past life. We break down small segments as time goes on.
The Real J.T.W. was born March 2, 1993 in Omaha, Nebraska. He lived with his Mom and Dad until they got a divorce when he was 2 years old. He came from a tough childhood, through poverty and not having much. At the age of 5 years old, he got taken away from his Mom. He was put into foster care for a while. Not long after that his grandparents on his Moms side had taken him in for a while. It became difficult for them due to their age. When he was 7 years old, he went to live with a foster family. He had a step mom and step dad. He also had a step brother. This new family seemed to be a good fit until they decided they were going to move to Wisconsin. Child services gave him an option to move with his foster family or stay back in Nebraska, where he’d be closer to his actual family. He decided to stay back in Nebraska. At the age of 10, he got a second chance to live with his Mom. She couldn’t raise him for long as she was battling issues again with her mental illness. This time child services got involved again. With both families fighting for custody, one on his Moms side and then on the other end on his Dads side. They went to court for full custody of him. At the age of 13, he got adopted by his grandparents on his dad’s side. Not long after living in Nebraska with them. He moved with his grandparents to Utah. Life seemed to get harder for him as he had to adapt to change once again. He joined a school where fitting in with friends wasn’t easy. He got caught up with the wrong crowd. He had lost many friends to street life. He dealt with so much trauma in his life. He looked towards songwriting, using his journal to dive into his life events. At age 15, he went to his first recording studio at a friend’s house. He recorded multiple mixtapes at the time. He got into free styling when he was younger so that was another big part of him musically. At age 19, after graduating High School. He moved away from his grandparents to go to college in St. George, Utah. Not long after one semester of schooling. He would return back home. He felt he had thrown the biggest opportunity at being something. Not long after he would get a regular job. At the age of 21, he had a mental breakdown and finally got the help he needed. He always had a struggle with depression and addiction. That being said, later would define his purpose with music. That journey continues through his music, including the new ‘LIFE BE LIKE THIS’ music video available on Instagram.
The Real J.T.W. signed to an independent record label, Soulburnin Records that was founded in California. He got signed in 2020 and has been with his label ever since. His right hand man behind all the great quality of his tracks is his producer, Soulburnin. On September 26, 2022. He dropped his first professional studio album titled, “Watch Me Bleed”. This album really touched down on the untold story of him in many segments. Then moving onto December 29, 2023. He drops his second professional studio album titled, “Painful Living”. This was by far some of his best work as he showed his childhood in a more rawer & darker form. A lot of the tracks on here were full of rage and anger. On January 20, 2025. He dropped his third professional studio album titled, “Way Below Ground”. Many fans voiced that this was his darkest album yet to release. This one touched down on more inner emotions but all through realization. The Real J.T.W. & his label plan to drop their fourth professional studio album titled, “Trapped Inside My Mind” sometime in 2026. His latest single, ‘LIFE BE LIKE THIS,’ also features a music video available to watch on YouTube. This album will show a side fans haven’t ever seen before. Lots of the tracks on here are more calmer but still through raw emotion & realness.
Social Media Links:
SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/Sru8NnScvgUKRiXouH
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therealj.t.w/
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@therealj.t.w.?si=AfQamR0KYpamuQMU
