Princeton Perez, or Jacob Perez, is an American singer-songwriter, professional dancer, and actor who was briefly a member of the boy band ‘Mindless Behavior.’ He began auditioning at a young age, appearing in his first set of advertising for Nike, McDonald’s, and Sketchers at the age of eleven. He was cast in the music videos for two songs by the band ‘Gym Class Heroes,’ ‘Shoot Down the Stars’ and ‘Cupid’s Chokehold,’ around the same period. He was cast in the film ‘High School Musical 3’ as Corbin Bleu, but had to decline due to the development of ‘Mindless Behavior.’ He had worked with Diggy Simmons, LL Cool J, R. Kelly, Lil Twist, and Jacob Latimore as a member of the group. Princeton can play the piano and guitar in addition to singing and dancing. Janet Jackson’s ‘Number Ones: Up Close & Personal Tour’ included several North American dates in 2011, and his band was picked to open for her.
The Career of Jacob
Lakeisha Gamble, the group’s future manager, is credited with coming up with the idea for ‘Mindless Behavior’ when she approached Walter Millsap (who had previously worked with Beyonce, Alicia Keys, and Jennifer Lopez) about starting a boy band.
Vincent Herbert, the record executive, and creator of Streamline Records (an Interscope Records imprint), was persuaded to join the project.
In 2008, Gamble, Millsap, Herbert, songwriter Candice Nelson, and choreographer David Scott staged open auditions in California to discover local talent. Scott had already collaborated with Princeton, and Gamble had seen him in the film ‘Cupid’s Chokehold.’
Despite Princeton’s fears that he would not be cast following the audition, he was given the part the same night. At the audition, he met the group’s second member, Roc Royal. Prodigy and Ray-Ray joined the group a few months later.
The trio worked hard for the following two years, honing their musical and performing skills under Herbert and Millsap’s watchful eye, before performing on ‘The Today Show’ in November 2010 to sing the song ‘My Girl.’
‘Interscope Records’ published their debut album, ‘#1 Girl,’ on September 20, 2011. It debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 album chart in the United States.
In 2010-11, the trio toured with The Backstreet Boys, Jason Derulo, and Justin Bieber, as well as Diggy Simmons, Trevante, Jawan Harris, and others on the inaugural ‘BET Closer to My Dreams Tour.’ They were the first black boy band to perform twice at the White House.
They announced the ‘#1 Girl Tour’ in July 2012, which would take them to 25 locations. ‘All Around the World,’ their second album, was released on March 12, 2013.
It debuted at the top of the ‘US R&B’ chart. On June 24, 2016, ‘Epic Records’ published their third album, ‘#officialMBmusic.’
In the meanwhile, the group had undergone major transformations. They wanted to do projects outside of the group, and Princeton, in particular, wanted to pursue occupations that were not related to music.
Ironically, at the time of the group’s official disbandment in 2017, he would be the only original member left. He’s been working on his first solo project since then.
‘Mindless Behavior: All Around the World’ is a documentary about their world tour following the release of their second album. In the 2017 film ‘Misguided Behavior,’ Princeton played Christopher Arnold.
The Beyond Notoriety
Princeton is a vegetarian and animal rights activist who supports People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and its efforts to end animal exploitation and abuse. Along with Zendaya, he was named the ‘2015 PETA Hottest Vegetarian Celebrity.’
Scandals & Controversies
Princeton had a disagreement with Jay Versace, a former Vine star. According to accounts, Versace got sick up with Princeton’s heated and scathing DMs on Twitter and threatened to post them on the social media platform unless he (Princeton) stopped.
Because he didn’t, Versace went ahead and published the communications, thereby identifying Perez as gay. “Rumors will be rumors,” Princeton responded, “and I’m not in a closet I don’t need to be.”
I don’t have to broadcast anything because I’m just being myself.” The entire episode generated popular outrage and condemnation, with many agreeing that Princeton was clearly out of line but emphasizing that Versace had no right to do what he did.
Versace, who came out in December 2016, has subsequently apologized for all that happened.
His Personal Experiences
Princeton was born on April 21, 1996, to an African-American father and a Hispanic mother in Downey, a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, USA.
His mother, Teresa Perez, raised him alone after his father abandoned them when he was a toddler. Jasmine is his half-sister. In 2014, he completed secondary school.
Estimated Net worth
Jacob Perez, a well-known pop singer, has a net worth of $48 million.
Trivia
Perez’s production firm gave him the nickname ‘Princeton’ because he liked to “learn musical history and accumulate musical knowledge.”