Prin$e William’s Defining Year With “What’s Life?”

Prin$e William raps like someone who’s lived enough life to tell you the truth and enough ambition to rewrite where that life is headed.

The rising hip-hop artist has been crafting a lane built on duality: the hunger for elevation and the honesty of where he came from, the wins and the wounds, the dreams and the reality checks. His voice sits right in that middle space, sharp enough to cut through the noise, reflective enough to stay rooted in something real.

Known for his signature pocket, his introspective punchlines, and the way he turns life lessons into hooks, Prin$e William brings a storyteller’s mind to a genre that rewards authenticity. His influences are clear: the perspective-driven approach of J. Cole, the versatility of Drake, but the lane he’s carving is entirely his own. He blends melodic confidence with grounded vulnerability, stitching together chapters of loyalty, betrayal, success, family, money, and the thin line between who you were and who you’re becoming.

In 2025, he delivered What’s Life? the release chosen for BUZZMUSIC’s Best Independent Releases of the Year. More than a title, the project is a question he turns over from multiple angles. To Prin$e William, life is influence. Progression. Success. Love. Family. Money. But it’s also identity, the different versions of himself he reveals track by track. The album plays like a mirror, reflecting someone who’s growing, evolving, and learning to embrace all the sides of who he is, not just the one that looks good on paper.

What makes Prin$e William compelling isn’t just the bars, it’s the emotional honesty behind them. His music hits because it feels lived-in. Earned. He writes from the middle of the climb, not after the victory lap, capturing the real-time process of becoming better than yesterday. And that mindset carried into his personal life this year, too. 2025 marked a major shift in self-improvement, increased self-awareness, and a new chapter symbolized by moving into a high-rise condo, a physical representation of leveling up and a reminder of how far he’s come.

Heading into 2026, Prin$e William is focused on expansion: more music, more storytelling, and deeper visual worlds that bring fans directly into the narrative. He’s building something bigger than a catalog; he’s building a movement rooted in elevation, self-belief, and authenticity.

This spotlight dives into the mind behind What’s Life? an artist on the rise, sharpening his craft, telling his truth, and showing every side of who he really is.

What’s Life? is the release you chose for BUZZMUSIC’s Best of 2025. When you sat down to build this project, what were you trying to understand, or answer, about your own life in real time?

Just trying to figure out what was important to me at that moment in time. Digging deep and getting to know myself, not just as an artist but as a person.

You talk about the album showcasing different sides of who you are as both an artist and a man. Which version of yourself were you most afraid, or most excited, to reveal on this project?

On this album, the version of me I was most excited to reveal was the man behind the monarchy. The one who still questions himself, still fights through doubt, still earns the throne every morning.

I wasn’t scared to show the lavish side—that’s easy, that’s natural. But showing the vulnerable side? The version of me that’s carrying a dynasty on his back? That’s the part that took courage

Your music blends luxury ambition with gritty honesty. How do you balance the confidence hip-hop is built on with the vulnerability that makes people feel connected to your story?

I’ve always hung onto being myself and letting everything else fall in place. Even if my story is too unique to be relatable, it will be something no one has ever heard before. Hip-hop, from my perspective, is about presenting something fresh, new, and raw authenticity.

Influenced by J. Cole, Drake, and your own lived experience, you’ve carved your own lane with introspective bars and melodic pockets. When did you realize you had your own sound, not a reflection of anyone else’s?

Building and making mistakes, but life taught me everything in between. I didn’t wake up one day and say, ‘Yeah, this is my sound.’ It was more like… the world finally started echoing back what I’d been feeling for years.

I knew I had my own lane the moment my pain started sounding expensive. When the struggle and the royalty met in the middle, it didn’t feel forced. That balance, introspective but still lavish, vulnerable but still victorious, that’s Prin$e William

2025 was a year of self-improvement and increasing self-awareness for you. How did your personal upgrades, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, shape the lyricism on What’s Life??

Just living life, how it worked for me. As I answered the question about what life means to me, I started living it and naturally doing the things I always wanted to do. You can only rap about a space you’re actually in.

Moving into a high-rise condo was a milestone for you. In what ways did leveling up your environment change the way you think about success, discipline, and the lifestyle you’re building?

Moving into that high-rise was bigger than a new address. It was the first time my environment finally matched the vision I’d been carrying in my head. When you wake up above the skyline, it reminds you what you climbed out of, and what you still gotta climb toward.

Success feels different when you can literally look down and see spaces you used to dream of. It pushes your discipline. ’Cause now I’m not grinding just to escape something… I’m grinding to maintain and elevate something. A lifestyle. A legacy. A standard.

Looking ahead to 2026, you want to get your audience more involved in your visual. What style, themes, or concepts do you want to explore on camera that you haven’t shown the world yet?

I want to show the contrast between marble floors and concrete roots, how both shaped me. I also want to experiment more with storytelling—short-film vibes, symbolism, imagery that says just as much as the lyrics. Think mirrors, crowns, empty rooms, pressure, patience… the kind of visuals that make you think about the cost of building a life like this.

And I want the audience involved, fan-submitted ideas, cameos, and band behind-the-scenes looks at how we make the vision happen. I want people to feel like they’re part of the throne being built, not just watching it from a distance.