The Playground: J.I Speaks On His New Project, Hood Life Krisis Pt. 3
“Like, I had this dream. And I feel like the dream I have is kind of impossible to achieve, because everybody and their mom wants to rap. I had to ask myself: How do I do this? You know? And, you know, I really stressed myself out every day. So I would tell myself like, yo, don't worry about it, you're gonna be good. Just, I'm not gonna ruin the surprise, just know something at the end of the tunnel for you.” - J.I
The New York music scene has been on fire with up and coming artists. One that stands out from the rest from having a sound just as unique as his journey, J.I The Prince of New York. The 19 year-old artist has had his name floating through the industry since his debut in 2016. At the early age of 15, he secured a seat on the reality TV show, The Rap Game hosted by hip-hop icon, Jermaine Dupri. His performances on the show generated a dedicated fanbase and a continuously growing reputation. J.I later connected with Gabi Acevedo, artist & media manager at G*Starr Entertainment, who later signed as his manager. As his catalog grew and he continued to hone his sound and style, people started to take notice.
In October 2019, J.I dropped his mixtape Hood Life Krisis Vol.1. From this project came his debut single “Need Me” which covers the 90’s classic “Best of Me” by Mya ft Jay-Z. The single left a memorable impression and signaled a new stage of J.I’s career. By November of 2019, J.I proved that he was here to stay. He signed a deal with Interscope Records via G*STARR Entertainment, dropping the video for “Love Won’t Change” and the following December, flawlessly sampled T.O.K’s 2000’s classic, “Footprints”, for his single “When You Cry.” The Brooklyn artists’ fanbase has been loyal and growing since dropping The Hood Life Krisis Vol 1 in 2019. When Vol. 2 dropped in December of 2019, it solidified the success of the series, again well reviewed by fans and as streaming numbers continued to rise for both albums. Other notable tracks from 2019 include “Blame on Me”, “Love Won't Change” and “Love Scars.”
By July 2020, J.I shared his label debut Welcome to GStarr Vol. 1 with G*Starr Entertainment and Geffen Records. The EP features the hit song “Spanglish” featuring Latin artist Myke Towers as well as big features from Lil Durk and Nav. It picked up major traction and quickly gained the attention of Spotify, Billboard, Complex, XXL, ABC News, Pitchfork, & more.
The next edition of Hood Life Krisis Volume 3 is set to drop on December 18, 2020. Disney, from The Playground was fortunate to sit down with J.I prior to the release of the visuals for his second single “Excuse My Pain” ahead of the release of his new project. As the title suggests, J.I communicates his pain on this track and shows he's grown to acknowledge his faults. The visuals draw inspiration from the iconic film Scarface, with J.I and his friends reenacting key scenes and recreating the energy of Tony Montana. We got exclusive details from J.I about his upcoming music, his personal thoughts on the importance of representing his culture and growing up.
Check out our interview with J.I from The Playground’s Disney Molina (griseldaa_blancooo) below - and follow @pressplayground for the full video and more interviews with your favorite artists.
Q&A with J.I
Disney: So I'm from Brooklyn. I love your energy. It's great.
J.I: I heard the New York, I'm like, “the way she said ‘how you doing’ I know she from New York. I ain't gonna say nothing though.”
Disney: Yeah, I'm from Canarsie so your energy is great. So I was at your last show at SOB'S and you killed it; the energy was awesome. So my question to you is, so you already have a collab with Myke Towers ,What other artists in the Latin market do you see yourself working with?
J.I: “Well, I have this reggaeton record, I'm putting on my new project. I want to do a remix. That's why I don't want to dub it and say it's canceled. But originally, we were working to put Jhay Cortez on it. I'm a big fan of Jhay Cortez. And I just said, you know let's just try to show the people I could do a reggaeton record by myself first and show people that. I want to show them that, J.I can handle this sh*t by himself and then let's do a huge remix where we could do all these artists like Myke Towers, Jhay Cortez and Sech
J.I continues
J.I: I have some features on the way too that I can't really speak on. But you know, I'm just a big fan of the culture. I'm Puerto Rican. I went to Puerto Rico when I dropped “Spanglish” and I kind of saw like, just for me being it, people were bumping it so I'm like, ‘holy s- like these are my people, like, you know, we are the same; this is the motherland.” I'm here right now. This is where I'm from. And just to really be there first hand and see how my people get and how it makes me want to make music for them. Like how could you not?
Disney: I can't wait to hear it. So on ‘‘Need Me’’ you sampled ‘‘Best Of Me’’ by Mya Featuring Jay Z and ‘‘When You Cry” you sampled ‘‘Footprints” by T.O.K. What's another classic song you can see yourself recreating ?
J.I: Yo I recreated a Big Pun record - that's a hard record. It's not out yet. I'm planning on putting it on the second part of Hood Life Krisis V. 3, because we're definitely coming out with another part. So for the records that didn't make the first part so that I feel like that record is definitely for the Bronx and for my Spanish people too just because of Big Pun, and what he did from New York, but I'm just nervous. I feel like someone's gonna steal that idea. I don't know I gotta jump on it.
Disney: So if you could talk to J.I as a young child, what advice would you give based on what you've been through so far?
J.I: Honestly, I'd probably tell myself ‘‘Stop stressing yourself out.” That's one thing I did. I stressed myself out every day. I was very anxious as a little kid. People look at little kids like, ‘How the f- are you stressed? Like, you're too young.’ But I don't know, it was just something in my mind. Like, I would wake up every day, I'd probably be like, 11 years old, maybe 12. And I just feel sad. Like, damn. Like, I had this dream. And I feel like the dream I have is kind of impossible to achieve, because everybody and their mom wants to rap. How do I do this, you know? And, you know, I really stressed myself out every day. So I would tell myself like, ‘Yo, don't worry about it, you're gonna be good.’ Just, I'm not gonna ruin the surprise, just know, something at the end of the tunnel for you. And I would leave it at that.
Disney: I mean, that just proves that you’re human at the end of the day. So it's great to see that you're able to acknowledge what you've been through and where you're going now, your growth has been amazing. And thank you so much for talking to us today.
J.I: Of course, I appreciate you. Thank you, stay tuned for the new Music.
J.I’s Excuse My Pain is available on all platforms for streaming. Make sure to check out Hood Life Krisis Vol.3 - out today, December 18th, 2020. It’s clear to anyone watching that J.I definitely has a bright future ahead of him - and we can't wait to see what's next!
- Disney Molina
Check out @pressplayground for the full interview with J.I from The Playground’s Disney - and follow for more interviews with your favorite artists.