J.I the Prince of N.Y

J.I the Prince of N.Y is an American rapper born Justin Rivera in Brooklyn, New York, in 2001. He began writing and recording seriously as a preteen, and his talent brought him wider attention when he appeared on the second season of the Lifetime reality series The Rap Game, hosted by Jermaine Dupri, which helped introduce him to a national audience while he was still a teenager.

His sound sits at the intersection of melodic rap, pop, and R&B, favoring emotional, relationship-driven storytelling over hard-edged street narratives. Tracks like «Need Me», «Love Won’t Change», and «Love Scars» showcase his knack for hooks built around vulnerability and romantic conflict, a style that helped him stand out among younger New York rappers exploring more melodic, radio-friendly territory.

J.I built his catalog quickly, releasing the mixtape «Hood Life Krisis Vol. 1» in September 2019 and following it just months later with «Vol. 2» in December of the same year. Songs such as «Blame On Me», «Used To», and «Own Shit» further cemented his approach of blending confessional lyrics with polished, contemporary production, positioning him as part of a wave of young artists broadening Brooklyn’s rap identity beyond traditional boom-bap toward a more melodic, genre-blurring sound.