J.I - Morning (Live Session) | Vevo Ctrl

J.I The Prince of NY - Morning - Live Session | Vevo Ctrl A couple years ago, when Justin Irvin Rivera was first introduced to a sizable audience on Lifetime’s ‘The Rap Game,’ it was as a quick-spitting high schooler with an afro. And while J.I aka J.I the Prince of N.Y ultimately lost the competition, hip-hop entrepreneur Jermaine Dupri, one of the show’s judges, saw potential in the Crown Heights native with the Puerto Rican roots. Now fast-forward a couple of years. J.I’s flow has been slowed down and smoothened, becoming a hybrid of sweet-taking NYC rappers like Fabolous, and the melodic MCs dominating hip-hop’s new wave. Lately, romance has been on the teen’s mind. Lyrically, “Need Me” retools 2010’s “Turn Me On,” the soca-tinged pop radio item that made Kevin Lyttle a one-hit wonder. “Morning” is a bit more forlorn, as J.I grapples with an out-of-nowhere breakup. The way he stares down the camera and furrows his brow in these Ctrl performances tells you that there’s a real honesty to this