James Prince

James Andre Prince (né Smith; born October 31, 1964) is an American record executive, music promoter and talent manager. He co-founded the Houston-based record label Rap-A-Lot Records in 1986, which has signed acts including the Geto Boys, Do or Die, UGK, Scarface, Bun B and Pimp C, Devin the Dude, Z-Ro, and Trae tha Truth. Smith and his son Jas are also known as early career mentors of Canadian rapper Drake, having introduced him to Lil Wayne and leading him to sign with latter's Young Money Entertainment in 2009.

Prince has executive produced albums for the Geto Boys (Grip It! On That Other Level, We Can't Be Stopped, Till Death Do Us Part, The Resurrection), Scarface (Mr. Scarface Is Back, The World Is Yours, The Diary, The Untouchable, My Homies, The Last of a Dying Breed), Big Mike (Somethin' Serious), Do or Die (Picture This, Headz or Tailz), Yukmouth (Thugged Out: The Albulation), Bun B (Trill), Pimp C (Pimpalation), and Drake (Thank Me Later, Nothing Was the Same).

Prince has also managed professional boxers such as Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Ward, and Shakur Stevenson.

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 apartments in Fifth Ward, Houston, an area locally nicknamed the "Bloody Nickel" and known for cocaine use and poverty.

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 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. in 1987. Blodget was a computer science major,

Geffen Records 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 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 with the album being pushed there instead, it tripled the total sales of the project.

Prior to the success of Ice Ice Baby, Prince wanted to sign rapper Vanilla Ice 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.

While the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was going on, Prince had suggested out of concern that The Notorious B.I.G. and manager Puff Daddy leave Los Angeles for their safety, weeks before the 1997 murder of the rapper. Jas and Prince Sr. were listed as executive producers or contributors for points on Drake's Thank Me Later, Nothing Was the Same, 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 entitled Courtesy Call as a response to Sean Combs for a conflict he had involving Young Money artist Drake.

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

In 2021 Prince helped revive Drake and Kanye West's relationship with the goal of all three coming together to help Larry Hoover by raising awareness on incarceration in the United States. They threw a benefit concert in December 2021 with support for judicial reform advocacy groups. The concert was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and produced by DONDA and PHNTM. It was played in select IMAX theatres, including Grauman's Chinese Theatre, while being streamed on Amazon's Music and Prime Video services.

In March 2022 Prince boycotted the Grammy Awards over Kanye West having been banned from attending.

In November 2022, after the death of rapper Takeoff 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. The management relationship ended in 2003 due to financial differences between the two.

Prince managed Andre Ward after the 2004 Summer Olympics, 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, Jared Anderson, Roy Jones Jr., Diego Corrales, Mark Johnson, Duke Ragan, Efe Ajagba and Hasim Rahman. and has been represented by artists like Lil Wayne.

For over two decades Prince has operated a 1200-acre ranch for raising black angus cattle and hay. 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 5th Ward. The facility has since been used to host events relating to Christmas, Thanksgiving, and back to school events.

Legacy Prince is known as one of the 'godfathers of the rap music industry',

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

1990s Geto Boys - The Geto Boys (1990) Convicts - Convicts (1991) Geto Boys - We Can't Be Stopped (1991) O.G. Style - I Know How to Play 'Em (1991) Scarface - Mr. Scarface Is Back (1991) Big Mello - Bone Hard Zaggin (1992) Ganksta N-I-P - The South Park Psycho (1992) Seagram - The Dark Roads (1992) 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) Big Mike - Somethin' Serious (1994) Blac Monks - Secrets of the Hidden Temple (1994) Odd Squad - Fadanuf Fa Erybody!! (1994) Scarface - The Diary (1994) Seagram - Reality Check (1994) 5th Ward Boyz - Gangsta Funk (1994) CJ Mac - True Game (1995) Menace Clan - 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 - The Untouchable (1997) Seagram - Souls on Ice (1997) 5th Ward Boyz - Usual Suspects (1997) Blac Monks - No Mercy (1998) Devin the Dude - 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) Yukmouth - Thugged Out: The Albulation (1998) Ghetto Twiinz - No Pain No Gain (1998) Scarface - My Homies (1998) Tela - Now or Never (1998) Big Mike - Hard to Hit (1999) 5th Ward Boyz - Keep It Poppin' (1999)

2000s Do or Die - Victory (2000) Scarface - The Last of a Dying Breed (2000) Tela - The World Ain't Enuff (2000) Willie D - 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 (2002) Outlawz - Neva Surrenda (2002) Scarface - The Fix (2002) Tela - Double Dose (2002) Do or Die - Pimpin' Ain't Dead (2003) Scarface - Balls and My Word (2003) Yukmouth - Godzilla (2003) Devin the Dude - To tha X-Treme (2004) UTP - Noila Clap (2004) UTP - The Beginning of the End (2004) Z-Ro - The Life of Joseph W. McVey (2004) Bun B - Trill (2005) Dirty - Hood Stories (2005) Geto Boys - The Foundation (2005) Pimp C - Sweet James Jones Stories (2005) Z-Ro - Let the Truth Be Told (2005) Do or Die - Get That Paper (2006) Pimp C - Pimpalation (2006) Scarface - My Homies Part 2 (2006) Trae tha Truth - 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 (2007) Trae - Life Goes On (2007) UGK - Underground Kingz (2007) Z-Ro - King of tha Ghetto: Power (2007) Bun B - II Trill (2008) Pimp C - Greatest Hits (2008) Scarface - Emeritus (2008) Trae - The Beginning (2008) Yukmouth - Million Dollar Mouthpiece (2008) Z-Ro - Crack (2008) UGK - UGK 4 Life (2009) Z-Ro - Cocaine (2009)

2010s Bun B - Trill OG (2010) Drake - Thank Me Later (2010) Pimp C - The Naked Soul of Sweet Jones (2010) Z-Ro - Heroin (2010) Pimp C - Still Pimping (2011) Juvenile - Rejuvenation (2012) Bun B - Trill OG: The Epilogue (2013) Drake - Nothing Was the Same (2013) Juvenile - The Fundamentals (2014)