Check out the story of AKA Justin Rivera, a rapper from Brooklyn who got his start in 2010. J.I.’s music has been compared to the work of A Boogie wit da Hoodie and Lil Tjay.
His YouTube channel has now amassed more than 28 million views and has 250,000+ subscribers on the platform.
Fast Facts About J.I. the Prince of N.Y.
- J.I. the Prince of N.Y. is Justin Irwin Rivera, a rapper and singer born in Brooklyn, New York on September 23, 2001. He grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn and was first introduced to hip-hop and reggae by his Puerto Rican parents when he was young. These two genres went on to significantly influence the music that he would make as a young adult.
- As a kid, Justin would make his own beats and rap using a low-quality digital keyboard. His primary inspirations at the time were old-school rap greats like Biggie, Tupac, Nas, Jay-Z, and others. Justin and his brothers would freestyle rap together as middle schoolers.
- In school, Justin loved English, and he was interested in writing more than just rap. As a schoolkid, Rivera demonstrated a knack for writing short stories, a talent that later translated into his vivid storytelling as a musician.
- In 2016, Justin kickstarted his rap career by becoming a contestant on The Rap Game, a show where rappers competed for a chance at stardom. Jermaine Dupri, the host of the show, had discovered Justin’s rap skills after the young artist posted videos of himself freestyling on Instagram. While Justin didn’t go on to win The Rap Game, his appearance on the show gained him a legion of fans, and he soon started racking up hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.