Q&A: J.I.
J.I. on reigning New York and still being hungry.
“When I was on tour we went to SOB’s and sold it out three times, and they were like ‘yo, you’re the first person to ever do that!’ and I’m like ‘huh? Me?!’” exclaims Justin Irvin Rivera, more famously known as J.I., who has accomplished multiple milestones similar to that at just the age of 19, ranging from having a RIAA certified gold, now almost platinum, breakout single to signing a deal within a year. After the release of his EP, Welcome to Gstarr Vol. 1, earlier this year which garnered over 1.3 million streams on Spotify within the first 20 minutes and featured appearances from Myke Towers and Lil Durk, the Brooklyn rapper started the rollout for the third addition to his Hood Life Krisis series. Following the success and critical appraisal of his first two singles, “Letter 2 U,” and “Excuse My Pain,” J.I. is more than thrilled to finally share the rest of this highly anticipated project with his equally loyal fanbase. The young rising star explains the meaning of the title, Hood Life Krisis Vol. 3, a symbolic play on midlife crisis he believes he has endured on the road to his come-up.
Being at the forefront of the city’s music scene and representing himself in the truest form, J.I. is self-aware of his faults and advantages, using it as ammo to make the most desired records possible. Known for his commercial hits in the past, the master of melodic raps and catchy hooks is offering his core fanbase intimate moments on Hood Life Krisis Vol. 3, as he paints raw, unfiltered pictures of his life on tracks like “Calling Out 2 You” and makes honest admissions on “Excuse My Pain.” If you’ve been an avid follower of J.I., you can practically hear the growth in his sound, his evolved mindstate as he raps with vigor and passion, simultaneously being relatable and authentic to his roots.
In a virtual press conference held by 1824 of Universal, the rapper/singer is every bit charismatic and welcoming, as he dives deeper into the creative process and meaning behind the first half of Hood Life Krisis Vol.3, going back to his roots, vulnerability and comparisons, the new New York sound, having infinite love and appreciation for his fans, and how despite the onslaught of accomplishments, he still has a lot to prove.
On the meaning behind Hood Life Krisis Vol. 3:
For me I felt like Hood Life Krisis was like, this hood shit ain’t for me. That’s when I came to a realization like I’m from here, I grew up in this environment, I wake up every day, I see the same people doing the same thing, but this shit ain't for me. I see where it gets people - either jail or dead. I had a hood life crisis when I realized I wanna take a different route, and see where I could go with this, like let’s see where I could take this rap shit. If I could really uplift myself and be one of those people who can make it out my neighborhood. You got rappers who talk about killing people, but we never really talk about what's going on, the stress that’s going on. Everyone always sees the hood from the outside, nobody is describing what’s going on [in there]. You don’t have to be in the hood doing what everyone else is doing, you can turn your back and do greatness. That’s what this project represented.
On criticism and praise:
I make music to express my pain and to really feel free. This is helping me more than it’s helping the fans. But it’s amazing because it’s helping fans at the same time, like me being able to release music and people are able to listen to my music and escape reality. I get DMs every day like ‘yo bro your music got me through high school or your music got me through last semester or your music got me through depression,’ and that shit helps me because my music helps me through that [too]. Knowing that I can impact people the same way it impacts me, I feel like I’m doing something right and that’s all that matters.
On the New York sound:
I just love what’s been coming out of New York lately. I feel like New York has been quiet for a long time and for us to have a trend and for other people to watch what we’re doing, it’s really dope and I feel like it’s about time. I’d rather it’d be so many artists coming out then it be ‘ah shit, we barely got anyone.’ We have so many artists coming out, you have no choice but to listen whether or not you like it. And it’s dope.
Advice for the up and coming:
Be yourself and do not worry about what the next person is doing. That was probably my biggest flaw, when I was coming up I was looking at everybody else, ‘why is this person blowing up quicker than me?’ or ‘why is this person’s song gold but my song has more views and not gold?’ I was concerned about it coming up and it got to a point where it kinda messed up what I had going on. If you’re upcoming, stay true to yourself, be true to who you are and you gotta be different, in a way. You have to have something the next man doesn’t have, set your own trends.
On his creative process and keeping his roots:
I just try to give the fans better music each time. With this project, you hear the evolution. I want my fans to stream Volume 1 & 2 before I drop Volume 3, and you’ll hear the growth. You hear the commercial records but you really hear the mental process of who I am as a person. I feel like I never really got to get inside my personal life with my music. I want to be interesting but at the same time I want to be truthful to myself.
I messed up on my last project, I made it more commercial and tried to be different and forgot about my core. I have a core fanbase that listens to me for a certain reason. Like when I listen to Jadakiss or Fabolous, I expect them to say some crazy shit. Just like when I listen to Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole I expect them to say certain things and when they don’t say those things, you hear the backlash from the fans. I went too hard trying to be different [before] and didn’t give the fans the core J.I. But like I said I’m not perfect, I’m going to make mistakes, but as long as I can get back on track and keep my foot on the gas and do what I need to do, I’m good. On this new project I have different genres but I’m still sticking with my core.
Hood Life Krisis Vol. 3 is out now on all platforms.