Meet PJ: On Music, Love and Life's Lessons

For North Carolina singer-songwriter PJ, telling her own story means turning complicated relationships, uncomfortable truths and years of personal growth into music that refuses to hold anything back. With a new single making waves and an upcoming project titled I Hate You, Marcus Johnson, PJ is stepping into a chapter that feels entirely her own.

While interviewing her she has an immediate warmth about her. She's funny and refreshingly down to earth, with the kind of energy that makes conversation feel less like an interview and more like catching up with someone who happens to have an impressive list of songwriting credits. Beneath that easy-going personality, however, is an artist who has spent considerable time figuring out who she is, what she wants to say and how she wants the world to hear it.

Currently travelling across the UK and Europe as part of J. Cole's The Fall-Off World Tour, PJ is experiencing a moment that once might have felt difficult to imagine. Her latest single, 'Two Steps', produced by and featuring Cole, offers a glimpse into her evolving artistry, while her forthcoming project, I Hate You, Marcus Johnson, promises a more personal account of the experiences that have shaped her.

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But before the records, the collaborations and the growing audiences, there was a girl from Greensboro, North Carolina, still trying to work herself out. Ask PJ who she is outside the music and she'll tell you she's the homegirl you can come to for good advice. She's also someone who, like many of us, hasn't always had the answers. There's been a process of finding her place in the world, learning herself and becoming increasingly comfortable with the person she's growing into. Music, she explains, has often provided a language for feelings she might struggle to articulate in everyday conversation.

It's a particularly interesting foundation for someone whose career has involved writing for other people.

PJ's songwriting résumé includes work with some of the biggest names in contemporary R&B and pop, including Usher, Latto, Chris Brown, Charlie Puth and Wiz Khalifa. She's also found herself in creative spaces alongside respected producers such as Robert Glasper, T-Minus and D'Mile. Yet, despite the calibre of names attached to her work, there's something personal about the way she approaches her craft.

Growing up in North Carolina, surrounded by hardworking, entrepreneurial parents, helped shape the resourcefulness she carries into her professional life. She credits her family with teaching her how to navigate situations, think creatively and find solutions rather than wait for someone else to provide them.

The influence of home extends beyond work ethic, too. PJ speaks affectionately about the women who surrounded her growing up, particularly her mother, whose humour and personality helped shape her own. There's a certain Southern confidence she recognises in herself, alongside the warmth and hospitality associated with where she comes from. Having also spent time in Atlanta, she has absorbed different musical and cultural influences, developing an ear for the distinct rhythms, conversational styles and pockets that exist across the South.

Writing for male artists has also required her to step outside her own perspective, considering how a man might communicate, what he might say and how he might approach a particular situation. It's an exercise in empathy and imagination, but one she approaches by bringing her own creative instincts to the process.

Writing for herself, however, offers a different kind of freedom. PJ admits that expressing her feelings in a conventional conversation isn't always straightforward. Sometimes, the words don't quite arrive in the way she wants them to. Put her in a recording booth, though and something shifts. Suddenly, emotions that might have been difficult to explain become much easier to communicate. She even jokes about wanting to explore theatre one day, feeling that the stage could offer another opportunity to express herself fully. Given her storytelling instincts, the idea of PJ writing a musical isn't entirely difficult to imagine. We share a laugh at the possibility, although something tells me it could be quite the production.

For now, she's putting that storytelling ability into her own music. "Two Steps", Produced by J. Cole, explores the frustration of being caught in a relationship that seems to move in circles. It's that familiar feeling of believing you're making progress, only to realise you've somehow found yourself back in the same situation. The song's central idea of taking two steps forward and three steps back captures the emotional exhaustion of repeatedly revisiting something you know isn't good for you.

For PJ, the record came from a real experience. Looking back on a relationship she had during her time in Atlanta, she can now recognise the situation for what it was and question why she allowed herself to remain in it. There's an honesty in that reflection, particularly because she isn't interested in presenting herself as someone who was entirely blameless.

Instead, she's willing to acknowledge her own part in the situation, including the moments when she allowed someone to treat her in ways she should never have accepted. As PJ reflects on the relationship, there's a sense that the song became as much an exercise in self-examination as it did an opportunity to express frustration. I Hate You, Marcus Johnson is blunt, provocative and carries the energy of someone who has finally reached their limit. PJ explains that the title came from a place of genuine frustration, with an element of revenge woven into it. Part of that frustration stemmed from the contrast between the importance Marcus placed on his public image and how she experienced him privately. Having reached a point where she felt she had endured enough, putting the story into music became a way of reclaiming the narrative. But the album isn't intended to be a one-dimensional account of how much she dislikes someone. There's a wider emotional landscape to explore, encompassing the different experiences, feelings and lessons that came out of that chapter of her life. For PJ, releasing the project is also about reaching the point where she can finally close that door. She feels that the story needs to be told in its entirety before she can genuinely move forward.

Her connection with J. Cole has played an important part in this emerging chapter. The two first crossed paths in Atlanta, when PJ was navigating a transition in her career after previously being signed and subsequently becoming independent. What followed was something of an unexpected opportunity. Through a series of circumstances, she found herself invited to a studio camp involving several producers. When Cole arrived, she took the opportunity to play him some of her music. He connected with what he heard and that initial meeting developed into an ongoing creative relationship. Their collaboration on 'Legacy', which appears on Cole's seventh studio album, The Fall-Off, was followed by their latest work together on 'Two Steps'. For PJ, the relationship represents more than simply having the opportunity to work alongside an established artist. It's also about finding the right people who understand her vision and recognise what she's trying to build.

After years of developing her craft, she describes the feeling of finally connecting with people who understand her creatively as something quite rewarding. She's also heavily involved in the visual presentation of her work. From the artwork to the photography and wider creative direction, PJ enjoys having a say in how her music is presented to the world. It's another extension of the storytelling process, allowing her to shape not only what people hear but also the visual world they associate with it.

Away from the studio, life on the road has offered an entirely different perspective. Supporting Cole across The Fall-Off World Tour has been an experience PJ speaks about with genuine enthusiasm. She's enjoying the opportunity to travel, discover different cuisines and experience the energy of audiences outside the environments she's more familiar with.

But perhaps the most significant part of touring on this scale has been what it has done for her sense of possibility. Being surrounded by artists, musicians and performers operating at such a high level is naturally motivating. PJ reflects on a time when she was questioning the size of her ambitions, wondering whether she needed to make her dreams more manageable. Fast-forward a couple of years and she's performing on an arena tour.

Rather than making her feel intimidated by what's possible, the experience has reinforced her belief that she belongs in these spaces. It's confirmation that the things she once hoped for are not necessarily out of reach and that she is capable of pursuing the career she's envisioned for herself.

When I ask what she would tell the younger version of herself, her first response is characteristically unfiltered: 'Don't get involved with Marcus!" She would also tell herself that everything will work out, that the things she's been asking for are possible and that she needs to have more confidence in her abilities.

She also speaks candidly about the particular pressures that can come with navigating the world as a Black woman. There are moments when self-doubt creeps in, when questions about whether you're good enough become difficult to ignore. For PJ, developing resilience has been just as important as developing confidence. You might not always feel emotionally assured, but having something deeper within you that keeps you moving is what makes the difference.

It's a fitting reflection for an artist whose current body of work is so concerned with growth, accountability and learning when to walk away.

There's no suggestion that PJ has everything figured out, nor does she seem particularly interested in pretending otherwise. She's still discovering herself, still experimenting with how best to communicate and still finding new ways to translate her experiences into music, while enjoying the journey.