CJ
Artist
Christopher Daniel Soriano (born January 4, 1997), better known by his stage name CJ, is a rapper coming out of Staten Island, New York. He also has a Puerto Rican background.
Although CJ began rapping as a hobby at the age of 9 and began recording and uploading songs to YouTube and SoundCloud at the age of 14, CJ began his musical career in 2017 at the age of 20 years old. CJ would first gained some traction with the release of his 2018 song “Pop” featuring 6ix9ine.
He didn’t take off however until late 2020 when his hit song “Whoopty” blew up on TikTok and across social media. The song would peak at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 2021. Due to the overwhelming success of the song, CJ signed a deal with Warner Records, and his uncle Jamez Cruz’s record label, Cruz Control Entertainment. CJ had also signed to French Montana’s label and collective, Coke Boys Records. CJ stated that various labels reached out to him, however Warner had the “best situation.”
Following the release of “Whoopty,” CJ would release the follow-up single, “BOP” on January 25, 2021. Then on February 19, 2021, CJ released his debut major-label EP, Loyalty Over Royalty, which was executive produced by French Montana The EP would debut and peak at #56 on the Billboard 200. Two months later, CJ would release a deluxe version of Loyalty Over Royalty, with two remixes of “Whoopty,” a latin remix with Anuel AA and Ozuna, and a New York remix with French Montana and Rowdy Rebel, alongside the standout single, “Lil Freak” with DreamDoll.
Since the release of Loyalty Over Royalty, CJ started to gain more attention towards Spanish audiences, as he went on to collaborate with more Latin artists, such as El Alfa, Chael Produciendo and Farruko, as well as gaining attention from legendary rappers, such as Busta Rhymes, in which the two collaborated on the track “Czar (Remix)” with M.O.P. However, CJ’s recent releases has slowed down since.
In 2023, CJ was dropped from Warner Records and is now an independent artists, releasing his newer material through AWAL. CJ is expected to release his debut studio album sometime soon in the year.
