Piif Jones Discusses Loopy Life, The Legacy of Kiing Shooter, and FTD Records

Recognizing the inspired while they are here is a lesson that the game will teach you. Brooklyn born, Queens bred artist is Piif Jones is next up. Rising as one of the hottest rappers in Long Island City, he provides every aspect of the rap game. Piif is a fuse ready to blow. His flow captures you, while his lyrics entices you. Whether he’s spitting fire about the ladies or his struggle growing up in Queens bridge –– he’s relatable and his finesse will draw you in and keep you there.

Piif tells a story with every song. As he hustles to the top with a mixtape collection that rivals your favorite artists’ you’ll feel what Piif has to say, so be ready to blast his tapes because his talent undeniable and the kid is the truth. Signed to Dave East’s FTD (From The Dirt) Records, he releases his latest EP, While You Wait 2, while carrying the cherished legacy of his belated comrade and friend Kiing Shooter. Jones carries the weight of the world on his shoulder with a smile. Silent but bold, the emcee is emerging as the next emcee to watch in 2021.

The Hype Magazine got to share a few moments with the emcee to see how he is laying out his blueprint for an NYC takeover.

Hype: Where you from and how’d you fall in love with hip-hop?

Piif: Well I go by the name of Piif Jones. I was born in Brooklyn and grew up in both Brooklyn and Queensbridge. It’s kind of like the best of both worlds type of thing. I went to school in Queensbridge and then I moved to Brooklyn when I was in the fourth grade. It was crazy because I was born in Brooklyn and I then move to Queensbridge and then I moved back to Brooklyn. Now I’m back in Queensbridge, so it’s like that double life of living Brooklyn seeing how that is and seeing how Queensbridge is crazy. It helped with my music because I was able to be in Brooklyn and get that vibe of like Hip-Hop and West Indian music and being able to come to Queensbridge and catch that vibe of Nas, Mobb Deep, and C-N-N. It was crazy. I was into the music when I was younger. My pops used to sing, he used to be in a group. It always been in my family but how I came up was so musical.

Hype: Who would have to be your main musical influence?

Piif: My main one would have to be my pops because that was like the first person I heard doing music and singing.

Hype: Living on both sides of NYC, I know Brooklyn could be different from Queens bridge. What would you say about the influence and impact that New York hip-hop made in the 90’s and how it is now. How did it influence you?

Piif: The 90’s, it was just so many. I went through something new like how the Chicago thing was. When it so many of, it’s like you have no choice but to follow it you know what I mean. How it was with the 90’s, it was so many people in the 90’s coming out of Queens. A lot of New York period but specifically in Queens It was so many people coming. It’s like you couldn’t stop it. That influence was undeniable. You had to get on that wave. It was new, it was faster, the syllables was cut different, and the bars and kick was different. It was big jump from Big Daddy Kane to Nas and them.

Hype: Do you thing it was the style or the image?

Piif: Just more of everything really. The style, the clothes, the way people rhymed. It was everything . Fast forward to now, it was the same thing but just different places. Now we caught on to Atlanta’s wave. It ain’t nothing wrong with it. Everybody gets their time. It’s overpowering. It’s so many people on the waves. Whoever controls the market controls the style.

Hype: I feel like once you find common grounds. Certain things when New York and Los Angeles got similar things in common but others separate them.

Piif: Right. That common ground is the love for the music. The real love of the music is the common ground. No matter where you from if you really respect and love the music then you can get with another person that respects and love the music. Then both of you can make something happen.

Hype: What made you get into music?

Piif: I really started coming up when I met my friend Gutta. He was a little older than me, he was from Queens bridge. I met him because I was playing basketball in the projects next to mine (Ravenswood).That is how I met Dave East. He introduced me to East, that was like 6 or 7 years ago. Around that time we were all just in his crib rapping and going hard. He seen that I was really really going hard. So he had linked me up with East and then we started rocking with each other. I would say about a year of us rocking, then East started going crazy like I don’t know he just started going crazy. That was like the first real spotlight then we started going on tours, then he got signed to Nas then shit we here now.

Hype: What do you feel like the biggest lesson you’ve learned?

Piif: One thing that I got out of that is don’t be afraid to speak your mind at any moment. Always express how you feel, whether it is with the music in the studio, whether it is with your friends or on stage. A lot of times, we tend to hold stuff in that people want to know, people want to hear, relate to , and talk about. That was the biggest thing I learned is expressing myself.

Hype: What separates you from everybody else in the game?

Piif: I feel like I’m different because I learned everything. I can do everything. I’m a great team player. Not only am I great artist myself but I have a great eye for talent and I have a great ear for music. Naturally I make other people better. That’s what I feel like separates me because I’m going to give you great music and I’m going to help others and give you other great music. That is always needed.

Hype: Music comes from different emotions and a lot of time people tend to mix that with the business. The Industry paints facades that make people change and choose sides. Sometimes the blind can lead the blind. How do you feel the authentic artist empower music rather than follow the smoke and mirrors and express your voice. What does the game need right now?

Piif: Basically, you just got to use the platforms that you have. You got the options to get directly to every single fan. You can just use your platform and talk to the people on how you want to talk them. You can get your message across how you want to get it to them. You really don’t need nobody anymore to get your message straight to the people. You just have to be content with knowing that you want that. Some people want to people in the spotlight and being the industry. If you can be content with building with your fans and if it happens, then it happens.It’s a lot of people making money and feeding their family and they not on the radio and in the spotlight. If I’m not recording music then it’s like im not doing nothing. You can do productive things but there is so much pressure from your peers and you not having and you seeing and wanting, it’s hard. It’s not easy looking at people being successful and not saying I want that.

Hype: What is your biggest motivation?

Piif: My daughter man, you know. Every time I see my daughter and speak to her ab0ut what she wants something or listening to her telling me something about her dreams. It motivates me to go crazy.

Hype: Seeing you build your brand and working on Loopy Life. What made the idea click to take your career and invest into it?

Piif: I had the time. When I first started Loopy Life it was like 2017, over the year I dropped mad music. I dropped over 100 videos and dropped like 10 mixtapes. I was going crazy with that. Now I had the time with the pandemic to sit back and step it up a notch on business side. I started my clothing like back up. I got the website back up. I got two tapes finished with one I just dropped. Now I’m just structuring things and getting marketing plan together and doing all that type of stuff. I’m looking to be bigger than just an artist.

Hype: What does the name mean to you?

Piif: Loopy Life means creating your own loop. I been independent for so long that I wanted something to symbolizes creating your own loop. If you creating the loop you ain’t never have to be in the loop. That’s what Loopy Life is. Is creating your own loop and your own vibe If they telling you no then create it and do it yourself.

Hype: How’d you feel preserving the legacy of Kiing Shooter and knowing what ya’ll built and stand on. What did his life mean to you?

Piif: That’s my little brother, man. That’s one of the people that I grew up with when I was like 10, 11, or 12 years old. We been through everything together. I recorded his first song ever. There’s a lot of memories with that. I just try to take it day by day. I don’t force nothing. I don’t want it to be like we dropping music because we trying to capitalize on the situation. You know, i’m mean, cuz i’m really grieving you know what I mean? So I don’t , you know, I mean, I don’t know. I don’t really have a timetable on when i’ma do most things when it comes that. When i’m when it’s the time is right, I’ll feel it. You know, I know that from there we could be taken from there. We definitely want to do a documentary but right now the story is still being written.

Hype: Where do you feel are now then you were coming up. How do you feel you evolved into who you are now?

Piif: I just learn to own up to everything. A lot of things when you were younger you just let a lot of things build up and when you get it older you started running into problems. Over the years to handle things right when they happen. I’m more into finding solutions instead of making more problems.

Hype: Who is Piif Jones?

Piif: Piif Jones is an intelligent and eager monster ready to erupt. Piif Jones is cool but not to be played with. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy. I’m Piif. *laughs*

Hype: Who are your Top 5 NY Rappers of all time?

Piif: Nas, Jay, 50 , Fab, and Big L

Hype: Who is on your Top 5 rapper of all-time list?

Piif: Jay-Z, Nas, Pac, Big, and Snoop because I f**k with Snoop.

Hype: What does success mean to you?

Piif: Success to me is when I achieve the things that I dream about when I was a kid, you know what I mean? I feel like when you was a kid, whatever you dreamed about a big house with the pool and the thing in the studio record. If I don’t get to that, I’m not going to feel like I was successful, you know what I mean. So to me, that’s what success to me is getting where I was dreaming.

Hype: What’s next for you in 2021-2022?

Piif: I just dropped my EP While You Wait 2“, then I’ma drop one more and then I’m going on tour. We going to drop this From the Dirt tape then I’ma go up some more. *laughs* That’s my next plan drop more music, going on tour, getting this merchandise going so more. I start shooting this movie I’ve been working on . I got a movie that I wrote called “Out of Time”. It’s not like a documentary but it’s like a little bit of my life in it. So i’m assuming that hopefully in the summertime. That’s all i’ma have getting into my acting bag. Shout out Queensbridge, The Pyramid. I got a show with people from my hood called The Queensbridge, The Pyramid Stories on YouTube it got like eight episodes. Go check that out and I appreciate that.