James Prince (born James Andre Smith; October 31, 1965) is an American record executive, music promoter and talent manager. He founded the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

-based

Southern hip-hop Southern hip-hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip-hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip-hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, Texas, ...

record label Rap-A-Lot Records in 1986, which has discovered or signed artists including the groups

Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) were an American hip hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. They saw commercial success in the 1990s with the lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D. The group became best ...

, Do or Die,

UGK UGK (short for Underground Kingz) was an American hip-hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas, formed in 1987, by Mitchell "Big Mitch" Queen who would eventually leave the group to pursue a football career and Chad "Pimp C" Butler with Bernard "Bun B" ...

, the respective solo careers of Scarface,

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the Southern rap duo UGK (Underground Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wi ...

and

Pimp C Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK). ...

, as well as rappers Devin the Dude,

Z-Ro Joseph Wayne McVey (born January 19, 1977), better known by his stage names Z-Ro and the Mo City Don, is an American rapper from Houston, Texas. He was named one of America's most underrated rappers by ''The New York Times'' in 2007. Early life ...

, and

Trae tha Truth Trae tha Truth (or simply Trae) is an American rapper. He embarked on a recording career in 1998, and established local prominence in the Southern hip hop, Texas hip hop scene with his solo debut, ''Losing Composure'' (2003). His second and thi ...

. He and his son Jas have been credited as an early career mentors for Canadian rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

. Prince executively produced albums for the Geto Boys ('' Grip It! On That Other Level'', ''

We Can't Be Stopped ''We Can't Be Stopped'' is the third studio album by Geto Boys, released on July 9, 1991. It was among their most successful records in terms of units sold. The album is analysed track-by-track by Geto Boys in Brian Coleman's book '' Check the ...

'', '' Till Death Do Us Part'', '' The Resurrection''), Scarface (''

Mr. Scarface Is Back ''Mr. Scarface Is Back'' is the debut studio album by the American rapper Scarface. It was released on October 8, 1991, by Rap-A-Lot Records and Priority Records. The album was supported by two singles: " Mr. Scarface" and " A Minute to Pray and ...

'', '' The World Is Yours'', '' The Diary'', ''

The Untouchable Untouchable or Untouchables may refer to: People * Untouchability, the practice of socially ostracizing a minority group of very low social status * Untouchables, word for the Dalits or Scheduled Castes of India * Untouchables (law enforcement ...

'', '' My Homies'', ''

The Last of a Dying Breed ''The Last of a Dying Breed'' is the sixth studio album by American rapper Scarface. The album was released on October 3, 2000, by Rap-A-Lot Records and Virgin Records. The album was less successful commercially than his last few efforts, but ...

''),

Big Mike Big Mike is a nickname of: People with the nickname * Mike Abrams (criminal) (died 1898), American underworld criminal * Michael Clemente (1908–1987), American mobster * Michael Clarke Duncan (1957–2012), American actor sometimes credited a ...

('' Somethin' Serious''), Do or Die ('' Picture This'', '' Headz or Tailz''),

Yukmouth Jerold Dwight Ellis III (born October 18, 1974), better known by his stage name Yukmouth, is an American rapper. He is the founder of The Regime, Smoke-A-Lot Records and Godzilla Entertainment. Career Yukmouth is a member of the rap duo L ...

('' Thugged Out: The Albulation''), Bun B (''

Trill TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is a networking protocol for optimizing bandwidth and resilience in Ethernet networks, implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and ...

''), Pimp C (''

Pimpalation ''Pimpalation'' is the second studio album by American rapper Pimp C from UGK. It was released on July 11, 2006, by Rap-A-Lot, Asylum, and Atlantic Records, making it the rapper's last solo album to be released during his lifetime. Recording se ...

''), and Drake (''

Thank Me Later ''Thank Me Later'' is the debut studio album by the Canadian rapper Drake. It was released on June 15, 2010, by Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Universal Motown Records. Production for the album took place at various record ...

'', ''

Nothing Was the Same ''Nothing Was the Same'' is the third studio album by the Canadian rapper Drake (musician), Drake. It was released on September 24, 2013, through OVO Sound, Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records, and Republic Records. Work on the record ...

''). Prince has also managed professional boxers such as

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. (né Sinclair; born February 24, 1977) is an American boxing promoter and former professional boxer who competed between 1996 and 2017. He list of undefeated boxing world champions, retired with an undefeated record a ...

Andre Ward Andre Michael Ward (born February 23, 1984) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2004 to 2017. He retired with an undefeated record and held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including unified super ...

, and

Shakur Stevenson Ash-Shakur Nafi-Shahid Stevenson (born June 28, 1997) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, from featherweight to lightweight, and has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) lightweigh ...

Early life

Prince was born to 16 year old mother Sharon Johnson with an older sister Zenia and younger half-brother Thelton. They grew up in

Fifth Ward, Houston The Fifth Ward, nicknamed the Nickel, is a community of Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near G ...

's Bloody Nickel apartments, which were known for cocaine use and poverty. To earn money, he mowed lawns in Shady Acres, played

craps Craps is a dice game in which players gambling, bet on the outcomes of the roll of a pair of dice. Players can wager money against each other (playing "street craps") or against a bank ("casino craps"). Because it requires little equipment, " ...

, sold stolen cannabis plants, and worked on welding trucks. His sister died from getting hit by a train while walking home from school. Amongst other turbulence, friends and family were going to jail while Prince was rotating from school to school and between different homes. He played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

at Kashmere High School, from which he graduated in 1982.

Career

Prince was working as a bank teller in 1985 in the fault department, then getting laid off at the age of 20. The initial goal prior to the label was to keep his younger stepbrother known as the rapper Sir Rap-A-Lot out of street life, as well as friends Raheem and Jukebox from skipping school. They would meet on the porch of his grandmothers house to perform and practice. After purchasing an abandoned building, he turned the property into a used car dealership, known as Smith Auto Sales on the west side of Houston. At first he sold bucket cars,then moving on to exotic cars which athletes would come and purchase. The same rundown two-story building that Prince owned, was where the artists then moved on to record into during 1986. Prince co-founded Rap-A-Lot Records with Cliff Blodget, a Seattleite, in 1987. Blodget was a computer science major, who was an electrical engineer by trade and acted as the label's in-house engineer and producer alongside fellow producer Carl Stephenson. Prince used his last bit of funds to invest into the label. He was inspired by

Russell Simmons Russell Wendell Simmons (born October 4, 1957) is an American entrepreneur, writer and record executive. He co-founded the hip-hop label Def Jam Recordings, and created the clothing fashion lines Phat Farm, Argyleculture, and Tantris. He has p ...

and the label he co-founded

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The l ...

. He moved the company in 1988 to New York City with Blodget. Around this time Lyor Cohen would show Prince check books of Def Jam artists

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, alongside fellow new school hip ho ...

and

Whodini Whodini is an American hip hop group that was formed in 1982. The Brooklyn, New York–based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, a.k.a. Ecstasy (who wore a Zorro-style hat as his trademark; Jun ...

which showed him the potential revenue to be made in the music industry enlightening him to continue his vision with the Geto Boys moving the whole label back to Houston. The first group he formed in the label was the

. Prince found members Bushwick Bill when he was performing as a dancer at a club, Willie D through the recommendation of his barber, and Scarface in the parking lot of a club he owned playing demos to a DJ who worked there. His brother was a member but then was replaced at Prince's discretion with Scarface. This was confirmed from a

freestyle battle Freestyle rap, also simply known as Freestyle, is a style of hip hop music where an artist normally improvises an unwritten verse from the head, with or without instrumental beats, in which lyrics are recited with no particular subject or structure ...

against each other where Scarface outperformed Sir Rap-A-Lot, with the younger brother then agreeing that was the better direction for the group also. Using local radio stations like

KTSU KTSU (90.9 FM broadcasting, FM), known as "The Choice", is a variety radio station based on the campus of Texas Southern University. It was founded on June 23, 1972. Its studios have been located on campus at the Center for Professional Media ...

to spread the reach of the label's music, his first deal came in 1989 via

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

working with the Geto Boys on their 2nd album '' Grip It! On That Other Level''.

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

who had been working with Rubin pulled the project a week before its release to the lyrical nature of the album, despite claims of racism and

hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...

made by the Geto Boys and the fact that independently the album already had sold over 500,000 copies. The controversy lead to Rubin splitting from Geffen and signing with

Warner Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

with the album being pushed there instead, it tripled the total sales of the project. Prior to the success of

Ice Ice Baby "Ice Ice Baby" is the debut single by American rapper Vanilla Ice. It samples the bassline of the song "Under Pressure" by British rock band Queen and British singer David Bowie, who did not receive songwriting credit or royalties until after i ...

, Prince wanted to sign rapper

Vanilla Ice Robert Matthew Van Winkle (born October 31, 1967), known professionally as Vanilla Ice, is an American rapper, actor, and television host. Born in Dallas, raised in Miami, he was the first solo white rapper to achieve commercial success foll ...

after seeing him perform in 1990 at The Summit. He did not follow through as a result of his business partner Blodget feeling that the artist lacked talent. Prince signed a deal with

Priority Records Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, ...

in 1991 for distribution, releasing the Geto Boys third album ''

''. By the mid-1990s co-founder Blodget had parted ways from Rap-A-Lot. In 1995 Prince signed the next distribution deal with

Noo Trybe Records Noo Trybe Records is an American hip hop record label established in 1994 by Eric L. Brooks and operated as a sublabel of Virgin Records. It worked with several independent hip hop labels including Rap-A-Lot Records and AWOL. History The label ...

and

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

. In the 1990s Prince executively produced the Geto Boys' ''

'' and Scarface's ''

'' in 1991, Geto Boys' '' Till Death Do Us Part'' and Scarface's '' The World Is Yours'' in 1993,

's '' Somethin' Serious'' and Scarface's '' The Diary'' in 1994, Do or Die's '' Picture This'' and the Geto Boys' '' The Resurrection'' in 1996, Scarface's ''

'' album in 1997, and Do or Die's '' Headz or Tailz'' and Scarface's '' My Homies'' and

's '' Thugged Out: The Albulation'' in 1998. During the 1990s, two DEA agents placed a probe on Prince and his label, believing the label was a front for a major trafficking network. At this time a concept for a music distribution label that would have acted dually as a union for recording artists was being planned between Prince,

Suge Knight Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1965) is an American former record executive, former National Football League, NFL player, and convicted felon, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central f ...

, and

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (June 26, 1970 – February 5, 2025), professionally known as Irv Gotti or DJ Irv, was an American record producer and music executive. Gotti started off as a New York hip-hop DJ in the 1980s, then becoming an A&R t ...

which was eventually cancelled. The two agents were later convicted of corrupt conduct. While the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was going on, Prince had suggested out of concern that

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

and manager

Puff Daddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

leave Los Angeles for their safety, weeks before the 1997 murder of the rapper. In the 2000s Prince executively produced Scarface's ''

'' in 2000, ''

'' by

in 2005, and ''

'' by Pimp C in 2006. During

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final lineup comprised Beyoncé, Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams (singer), Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Hou ...

formative years in the early 1990s, Prince was approached by

Mathew Knowles Mathew Knowles (born January 9, 1952)Knowles in is an American record executive, businessman and university lecturer. He is best known for being the manager of Destiny's Child. He also once managed the solo careers of his daughters Beyoncé a ...

and one of their managers asking if he would join in, but he declined as their sound did not match his more hip-hop oriented label. Decades later another opportunity came to his 19-year-old son Jas who had reached out to Lil Wayne and Bun B, alerting him of the singer

after finding him on

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

, suggesting they collaborate together which lead to a label deal with Lil Wayne and features with Bun B on the albums '' So Far Gone'' and ''

Trill OG ''Trill OG'' is the third studio album by American rapper Bun B. The album was released on August 3, 2010, by II Trill Enterprises, Rap-A-Lot Records and Fontana Distribution. On August 4, 2010, ''The Source'' magazine gave ''Trill OG'' its rare ...

''. Jas and Prince Sr. were listed as executive producers or contributors for points on Drake's ''

'', ''

'', and other follow up projects as a result of the introduction, as well as entitlement to 33% of his earnings. On February 13, 2015, Prince uploaded a spoken word

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feu ...

entitled ''Courtesy Call'' as a response to

Sean Combs Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...

for a conflict he had involving

Young Money Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

artist

. In 2018 Prince released his autobiography ''The Art & Science of Respect: A Memoir'' with a foreword written by Drake. In the spring of 2018 after the release of

The Story of Adidon ''"''The Story of Adidon''"'' is a diss track written and recorded by American rapper Pusha T. It was released on May 29, 2018 on SoundCloud, amidst his feud with Canadian rapper Drake. The track is a response to Drake's " Duppy Freestyle". The ...

, Prince advised Drake not to respond to

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

helping deescalate the issue between the two parties. In 2021 Prince helped revive Drake and Kanye West's relationship with the goal of all three coming together to help

Larry Hoover Larry Hoover Sr. (born November 30, 1950)"Larry Hoover"
''Biography.com''. Retrieved 18 April 2019.

by raising awareness on

incarceration in the United States Incarceration in the United States is one of the primary means of punishment for crime in the United States. In 2021, over five million people were under supervision by the criminal justice system, with nearly two million people incarcerated ...

. They threw a

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate h ...

in December 2021 with support for

judicial reform Judicial reform is the complete or partial political reform of a country's judiciary. Judicial reform can be connected to a law reform, constitutional amendment, prison reform, police reform or part of wider reform of the country's political system ...

advocacy groups. The concert was at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

and produced by

DONDA ''Donda'' is the tenth studio album by American rapper Kanye West. It was released by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings on August 29, 2021. The album features a broad range of guest performances from artists, including The Weeknd, Jay-Z, Maril ...

and PHNTM. It was played in select

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

theatres, including

Grauman's Chinese Theatre Grauman's Chinese Theatre, known as the Chinese colloquially and officially billed as TCL Chinese Theatre for sponsorship reasons, is a movie palace on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, Unite ...

, while being streamed on Amazon's

Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

and

Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

services. In March 2022 Prince boycotted the

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

over Kanye West having been banned from attending. In November 2022, after the death of rapper

Takeoff Takeoff is the phase of flight in which an aerospace vehicle leaves the ground and becomes airborne. For aircraft traveling vertically, this is known as liftoff. For aircraft that take off horizontally, this usually involves starting with a tr ...

in Houston, Prince issued condolences and set up a memorial at the site of the incident.

Boxing

Prince was an avid fan of boxing growing up, being an amateur fighter and a fan of promoter

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. King's career highlights include, among multiple other enterprises, promoting "The Rumble in the Jungle" and the ...

. He became a manager for boxers as a way to get into that industry. He opened a boxing gym in Fifth Ward, Houston around 1999 known as JPrince Boxing which later became part of the multi-million dollar Prince Boxing Complex, under the umbrella of Prince Boxing Enterprises. Prince had the intention of meeting

Mike Tyson Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1985 and 2024. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "the Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson i ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

to manage the boxer, he was instead approached by Floyd Mayweather Jr. who was also a fan of his label. After being ignored by Tyson, Prince decided to go with managing Mayweather. They settled on a 20% deal which was 10% higher than the management deal he had with his father Floyd Mayweather Sr. supervising, as well as the potential opportunity to start a rap career over at his record label. The management relationship ended in 2003 due to financial differences between the two. Prince managed Andre Ward after the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

, in 2002 Prince called Ward after hearing he was about to quit boxing due to the passing of his father but convinced him to continue his career. They split ways in 2008 due to financial issues also, with each filing a lawsuit with each other over the matter in 2008. Prince has supervised the careers of 15 other boxers, leading some of them to their biggest victories, including

Winky Wright Ronald Lamont "Winky" Wright (born November 26, 1971) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2012. He is a two-time light middleweight world champion and was the last to hold the undisputed title at that weight until ...

, Jared Anderson,

Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes, including middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. As an amateur he r ...

Diego Corrales Diego "Chico" Corrales Jr. (August 25, 1977 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007. He was a multiple-time world champion in two weight divisions, having held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) s ...

, Mark Johnson, Duke Ragan,

Efe Ajagba Efe Ajagba (born 22 April 1994) is a Nigerian professional boxer who holds the record for the fastest victory in boxing history after his opponent was disqualified for leaving the ring one second after the opening bell. As an amateur, he won a ...

and

Hasim Rahman Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified World Boxing Council, WBC, International Boxing Federation, ...

Other ventures

In 2006 Prince founded condom company Strapped, after a close friend contracted

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

drastically going from 300 pounds to 75 pounds, passing away afterwards. He had the idea for the company since 2002. The company primarily served the Houston area, educating youth about HIV/AIDS prevention and hosting events set up to address the issue of AIDS in the Black community, and has been represented by artists like

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

. For over two decades Prince has operated a 1200-acre ranch for raising black angus cattle and

hay Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticate ...

. In 2020 he launched Loyalty, a liquor and wine brand.

Philanthropy

In January 2007, Houston Mayor Bill White (Texas politician), Bill White and the Houston City Council, City Council honored Prince for over 20 years of commitment and dedication to the city.City Council Chamber, City Hall, Tuesday, January 30, 2007
/ref> The result of the proclamation named an official James Prince Day in Houston. The recognition came after a recreation center Prince built in Houston's Fifth Ward, Houston, 5th Ward. The facility has since been used to host events relating to Christmas, Thanksgiving, and First day of school, back to school events. In 2007 his condom company Strapped gave over 7,500 free HIV tests for people aged 18–24 at the Hip-Hop 4 HIV concert at Reliant Stadium. In December 2007 Prince donated $100,000 to Bread of Life's ''Meals that Heal'' program in Houston.

Legacy

Prince is known as one of the 'godfathers of the rap music industry', and inspired other southern hip hop label executives including Birdman (rapper), Birdman of Cash Money Records and Master P of No Limit Records. In June 2010, J Prince was honored alongside Master P, Jermaine Dupri, Timbaland, and Slick Rick at the VH1 7th annual Hip Hop Honors Awards for both his creative contributions and his philanthropic ventures. In 2011, a limited edition DVD box set was released by Rap-A-Lot with appearances from several rappers, including Rick Ross and Young Jeezy and industry execs such as Lyor Cohen, Russell Simmons among several others praising Prince. In 2019 Prince received an honorary doctorate degree in the form of a doctorate of humane letters from Texas Southern University. This was received in part to his commitment at the university giving guest lectures to students, offering Rap-A-Lot internships, and financial endowment, endowed scholarships to their students in need of financial assistance.

Personal life

Prince has 7 children, including 3 sons, J Prince Jr., Jas, and Jay "Baby Jay" who also work in the music and boxing industries. He has been married to his wife since the late 1980s. Prince Sr. is a practicing Christian. Prince has an island in Belize known as the Prince Island. At the age of 23 he purchased a house for his mother and a 30 acre ranch.

Discography

;Compilation albums *''J Prince Presents R.N.D.S.'' (1999) ;Executively produced albums

1980s

- ''Making Trouble'' (1988) * Geto Boys - '' Grip It! On That Other Level'' (1989)

1990s

* Geto Boys - ''The Geto Boys (album), The Geto Boys'' (1990) * Convicts - ''Convicts (Convicts album), Convicts'' (1991) * Geto Boys - ''

'' (1991) * O.G. Style - ''I Know How to Play 'Em'' (1991) * Scarface - ''

'' (1991) * Big Mello - ''Bone Hard Zaggin'' (1992) * Ganksta N-I-P - ''The South Park Psycho'' (1992) * Seagram (rapper), Seagram - ''The Dark Roads'' (1992) * DMG (rapper), DMG - ''Rigormortiz'' (1993) * Geto Boys - '' Till Death Do Us Part'' (1993) * Ganksta N-I-P - ''Psychic Thoughts'' (1993) * Scarface - '' The World Is Yours'' (1993) * 5th Ward Boyz - ''Ghetto Dope'' (1993) * Big Mello - ''Wegonefunkwichamind'' (1994) *

- '' Somethin' Serious'' (1994) * Blac Monks - ''Secrets of the Hidden Temple'' (1994) * Coughee Brothaz, Odd Squad - ''Fadanuf Fa Erybody!!'' (1994) * Scarface - '' The Diary'' (1994) * Seagram - ''Reality Check (Seagram album), Reality Check'' (1994) * 5th Ward Boyz - ''Gangsta Funk'' (1994) * CJ Mac - ''True Game'' (1995) * Menace Clan - ''Da Hood (album), Da Hood'' (1995) * 5th Ward Boyz - ''Rated G'' (1995) * 5th Ward Juvenilez - ''Deadly Groundz'' (1995) * Do or Die - '' Picture This'' (1996) * Facemob - ''The Other Side of the Law'' (1996) * Geto Boys - '' The Resurrection'' (1996) * Mr. 3-2 - ''The Wicked Buddah Baby'' (1996) * The Almighty RSO - ''Doomsday: Forever RSO'' (1996) * Big Mike - ''Still Serious'' (1997) * Ghetto Twiinz - ''In That Water'' (1997) * Scarface - ''

'' (1997) * Seagram - ''Souls on Ice'' (1997) * 5th Ward Boyz - ''Usual Suspects (album), Usual Suspects'' (1997) * Blac Monks - ''No Mercy (Blac Monks album), No Mercy'' (1998) * Devin the Dude - ''The Dude (Devin the Dude album), The Dude'' (1998) * Do or Die - '' Headz or Tailz'' (1998) * Ganksta N-I-P - ''Interview with a Killa'' (1998) * Geto Boys - ''Da Good da Bad & da Ugly'' (1998) *

- '' Thugged Out: The Albulation'' (1998) * Ghetto Twiinz - ''No Pain No Gain (album), No Pain No Gain'' (1998) * Scarface - '' My Homies'' (1998) * Tela (rapper), Tela - ''Now or Never (Tela album), Now or Never'' (1998) * Big Mike - ''Hard to Hit'' (1999) * 5th Ward Boyz - ''Keep It Poppin''' (1999)

2000s

* Do or Die - ''Victory (Do or Die album), Victory'' (2000) * Scarface - ''

'' (2000) * Tela - ''The World Ain't Enuff'' (2000) * Willie D - ''Loved by Few, Hated by Many (Willie D album), Loved by Few, Hated by Many'' (2000) * Ghetto Twiinz - ''Got It on My Mind'' (2001) * Snypaz - ''Livin' in the Scope'' (2001) * Yukmouth - ''Thug Lord: The New Testament'' (2001) * Devin the Dude - ''Just Tryin' ta Live'' (2002) * Do or Die - ''Back 2 the Game'' (2002) * Facemob - ''Silence (Facemob album), Silence'' (2002) * Outlawz - ''Neva Surrenda'' (2002) * Scarface - ''The Fix (album), The Fix'' (2002) * Tela - ''Double Dose (Tela album), Double Dose'' (2002) * Do or Die - ''Pimpin' Ain't Dead'' (2003) * Scarface - ''Balls and My Word'' (2003) * Yukmouth - ''Godzilla (Yukmouth album), Godzilla'' (2003) * Devin the Dude - ''To tha X-Treme'' (2004) * UTP (group), UTP - ''Nolia Clap (EP), Noila Clap'' (2004) * UTP - ''The Beginning of the End (UTP album), The Beginning of the End'' (2004) *

- ''The Life of Joseph W. McVey'' (2004) *

- ''

'' (2005) * Dirty (group), Dirty - ''Hood Stories'' (2005) * Geto Boys - ''The Foundation (Geto Boys album), The Foundation'' (2005) *

- ''Sweet James Jones Stories'' (2005) * Z-Ro - ''Let the Truth Be Told (Z-Ro album), Let the Truth Be Told'' (2005) * Do or Die - ''Get That Paper (Do or Die album), Get That Paper'' (2006) * Pimp C - ''

'' (2006) * Scarface - ''My Homies Part 2'' (2006) *

- ''Restless (Trae album), Restless'' (2006) * UTP - ''Back Like We Left Something'' (2006) * Z-Ro - ''I'm Still Livin''' (2006) * Devin the Dude - ''Waitin' to Inhale'' (2007) * Scarface - ''Made (Scarface album), Made'' (2007) * Trae - ''Life Goes On (Trae album), Life Goes On'' (2007) *

- ''Underground Kingz'' (2007) * Z-Ro - ''King of tha Ghetto: Power'' (2007) * Bun B - ''II Trill'' (2008) * Pimp C - ''Greatest Hits (Pimp C album), Greatest Hits'' (2008) * Scarface - ''Emeritus (album), Emeritus'' (2008) * Trae - ''The Beginning (Trae album), The Beginning'' (2008) * Yukmouth - ''Million Dollar Mouthpiece'' (2008) * Z-Ro - ''Crack (album), Crack'' (2008) * UGK - ''UGK 4 Life'' (2009) * Z-Ro - ''Cocaine (album), Cocaine'' (2009)

2010s

* Bun B - ''

'' (2010) *

- ''

'' (2010) * Pimp C - ''The Naked Soul of Sweet Jones'' (2010) * Z-Ro - ''Heroin (Z-Ro album), Heroin'' (2010) * Pimp C - ''Still Pimping'' (2011) * Juvenile (rapper), Juvenile - ''Rejuvenation (Juvenile album), Rejuvenation'' (2012) * Bun B - ''Trill OG: The Epilogue'' (2013) * Drake - ''

'' (2013) * Juvenile - ''The Fundamentals (album), The Fundamentals'' (2014)

Early life

Career

Boxing

Other ventures

Philanthropy

Legacy

Personal life

Discography

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

References

Further reading