Imagine having a year like 2020 and topping it with your own personal pain. More than likely, many people don’t have to imagine. In a time like this, J.I., dubbed the Prince of N.Y. (he sold out the infamous New York-based live music venue S.O.B.’s for three consecutive nights), immerses himself in his music to take the 2020 edge off.
On his latest delivery, “Excuse My Pain,” from his upcoming album Hood Life Krisis Vol. 3, J.I. expresses the mental agony of his past choices. Crafted for the genuine, the former Rap Game star makes it clear that he doesn’t create music for a trend, but his music is a heartfelt diary filled with his most compelling admissions.
Born Justin Irvin Rivera, J.I. rose from the trenches of Brooklyn, the breeding ground for many of hip hop’s most talented rappers, including Mos Def, Lil Kim, Jay-Z, and of course, Notorious B.I.G. With an ear for impeccable production and the gifted ability to effortlessly formulate melodic lyrics, J.I. is not a capper rapper — instead, it’s apparent that he’s unmistakably influenced by the greats.
In the Kid Art directed visual for “Excuse My Pain,” J.I. re-enacts the character of Tony Montana played by actor Al Pacino in the cult-classic, Oliver Stone film Scarface. The cryptic hook unearths J.I.’s inner pain, “Cause I’m an evil n—a, I deserve to die in pain | And my heart so cold, I got frostbites inside my veins | I can’t see no evil, I put tints inside my frames | I’m in the world so cold, please excuse me for this pain.”
Barely on the brink of adulthood at 19 years of age, J.I.’s material is maturely furnished to be the perfect soundtrack for the youth that have old souls and the young at heart. It’s a unique place for an artist to be in given that so many rap artists make music that excludes entire demographics because of its non-relatable content.
J.I. is different though. Whether mainstream or underground, young or old, righteous or ratchet, it’s guaranteed that one of his bars are going to hit in the worst way to inspire listeners to take a deeper look at themselves — further solidifying J.I.’s long range, long money potential.
Not only that, the Puerto Rican artist has experience with adversity. As the old mantra warns, heavy is the head that wears the crown. Shortly after he released his EP Barely Famous, there was a time when J.I. considered laying music down for good to pursue a “real job.”
The crowded rap industry, social media judgment, and personal challenges nearly derailed the young rapper from pursuing his dreams. Facing a fateful fork in the road — he could either let the dream killers kill his self-esteem or use that smoke to power his dreams.
Similar to Drake, one of the first big artists to cosign J.I.’s movement, before he gave up, J.I. considered the reason why he held on so long in the first place. Luckily for music listeners, he decided to continue his music career and dropped Hood Life Krisis, Vol. 1 in 2019, where he hit success with a sample from the Mya and Jay-Z famous track “Best of Me, Part 2.”
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He would follow that up with Hood Life Krisis, Vol. 2, where he would make more than a buzz with singles “Bad Luck,” “Hood Scars,” “On Me,” and “Used To.” The rising star would earn the respect and collaboration of artists such as, Lil Tjay, Myke Towers, Lil Durk, and NAV.
As J.I. continues to be the conduit of vulnerable storytelling through hip hop, his trajectory is aligning with the most beloved rap stars of our time. The orbit is in his favor.
“Excuse My Pain” is available now on Apple Music, Spotify, TIDAL, Google play, YouTube and various streaming platforms.
