’12 Hours With Prince Royce’: Repping the Bronx & Letting His Dominican Roots Shine

On the new episode of Billboard’s 12 Hours With… presented by Facebook Watch, Prince Royce shares his journey to the Billboard Latin Music Awards, where he performed “Lao a Lao” for the first time. From picking his outfits to the moment he steps off the stage, his Dominican and New York roots shine through.

“My best moments were in the Bronx,” remembers the chart-topping artist. “There’s a lot of successful people that come out of New York, like J.Lo, Jay-Z, Marc Anthony, and being born and raised in New York is what brought me here. It’s something that makes you want to hustle because you want to get out of the hood.”

Now, the bachata singer — who’s incorporated pop, R&B and even mariachi elements into his music — has his own day in New York City, where Aug. 9 is known as “Prince Royce Day.” He was also inducted into the Bronx Hall of Fame with a street named after him.