Born and raised in Downey, California, near Los Angeles, Perez began his career at a young age when he appeared in television advertisements for companies such as Nike, McDonald's, and Skechers.
He was also cast in High School Musical 3, playing a small part as the young Corbin Bleu, but he could not take the role as it was around the same time he became a member of Mindless Behavior.
[5] Lakeisha Gamble, one of the contributing founders of Mindless Behavior, convinced future producer of the group, Walter Millsap, to form an American boy band.
In 2011, Mindless Behavior headlined the Scream Tour with Diggy Simmons, which featured The OMG Girlz, Jacob Latimore, and Hamilton Park.
[39][40] Subsequent to the departure of August ("Roc Royal") from Mindless Behavior, management replaced him with vocalist Michael "Mike River" Martin, and the group embarked on the creation of their third studio album, which was ultimately shelved.
[11][41] Following this, Lopez also exited the group, citing creative differences, leaving Perez as the sole remaining original member from the band's inception in 2008.
[43][44] After the album release, the group began shooting Misguided Behavior, a drama film directed by Carl Payne, starring Clifton Powell, Towanda Braxton, and Khalil Kain.
[49] In February, Perez took to Twitter to publicly declare Mindless Behavior's disbandment, citing the group's inability to secure rights to their music and their desire to pursue individual endeavors.
[50] On February 23, the tracklist for Taylor Bennett's project, "Restoration of An American Idol," was unveiled, with Perez featured in the introductory track titled "The Kid's Alright.
[56][57] That year, Perez was invited as a guest to the Las Vegas Teen Town Hall, where he joined former Mindless Behavior group member Elijah Johnson and Diamond White.
As part of the event, Barlow presented a proclamation from the city of Las Vegas, officially declaring May 30 as Diamond White, Elijah "EJ" Johnson, and Jacob "Princeton" Perez Day, recognizing and honoring the contributions of each guest.
[78] Perez has stated that his influences, both fashion, musicality, and performance are John Lennon, Prince, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Usher, Chris Brown, and a few rock bands, including Nirvana, Sublime and The Misfits, the latter of which inspiring his original Instagram handle "princemisfit" and later, "peacepunkprince".
[79][80][81] Perez's fascination with fashion was apparent, characterized by his androgynous style, and a unique blend influenced by punk-rock, grunge bands, and a nostalgic nod to 1970s hippie culture.