Justin Irvin Rivera (born September 23, 2001), better known by his stage name J.I the Prince of N.Y, or more recently simply J.I., is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his 2019 breakout single "Need Me", which has over 100 million streams on Spotify.
Early life
Rivera grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and is of Puerto Rican descent. At a young age he was introduced by his parents to music like old-school hip hop and reggaeton, and would make rudimentary beats on a miniature keyboard. In school, English was his favorite subject and he would write short stories. He began writing raps and freestyling with his brothers in middle school, influenced by New York City rappers like Biggie, Nas, DMX, Jay-Z and Big Pun.
^ Lamarre, Carl (April 15, 2020). "Meet J.I., the Melodic Romantic Who Believes in Real Love". Billboard. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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Chandler, Kisha (November 29, 2016). "JI The Prince of New York – Claiming The Throne of the Streets of New York". The Next Level Magazine. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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Chesman, Donna-Claire (April 10, 2020). "Brooklyn's J.I. Hopes You're Proud of Him". DJBooth. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
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"Spotify's RADAR Program Launches Second US Artist, J.I The Prince of N.Y Alongside New Content". Spotify. July 15, 2020. Retrieved July 21, 2020.
