Juicy J’s Hustle Continues

By Candace McDuffie


Immediately after 30 years in the music industry, Juicy J is happier than ever. The legendary emcee and anchor of the rap sort Three 6 Mafia is still going, celebrating the imminent release of his fifth studio album, The Hustle Continues, which includes a slew of cameos from younger artists working within an industry that he shaped: Megan Thee Stallion, Lil Baby, Young Dolph, and more. He is also a shrewd businessman, with investments in Core Hydration, cannabis business Asterisk*, and Epic Games (maker of Fortnite). Nevertheless perhaps his greatest personalized achievement is becoming a doting spouse and father, an experience he calls life-changing. “It’s good, man. It’s the perfect feeling in the world,” he tells MTV News. “But I ain’t gonna lie to you… it’s real-life shit. It ain’t no studio.”


His sojourns with Three 6 Mafia solidified the rapper as a hip-hop icon. The Memphis order made history in 2006 whenever they became the opening rap act to win a Academy Award for Best Original Song for Hustle & Flow’s “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” That recognition and acclaim garnered the crew significant attention and opportunity; Juicy J used the newfound momentum to continue pursuing a rather successful solo career.


His versatility and signature syrupy flow play a vital role in how he approaches music-making. “I mean, I’m a producer. I know about everything from the beat to the kick to the bass. I know how to write a punchline verse and I still kill it every time,” Juicy J explains. “It’s hard to do, however you know what? Look, I ain’t bragging, yet I gotta keep it 100: I’m a genius. I got the favor of God on my back. Just like everybody else, I put in the hard work, and I got the bruises to prove it.”


Ahead of The Hustle Continues (out Friday, November 27), Juicy J sat down with MTV News to discuss the secret to his longevity, penning pop hits, and how he deserves to be recognized as one of the big emcees of all time.


MTV News: In a recent interview, you referred to yourself because the Michael Jordan of rap. Do you know hip-hop appreciates your legacy as a lyricist and solo artist?


Juicy J: I would mention yes… some days no. And some days on the low. It’s kinda mixed. Any time as soon as they say excellent people, my name don’t come up. Yet once they say who’s been around for 30 years and still killing the game, then my name comes up. That’s sort of weird, however this game is competitive, so you know, a lot of people don't wish to give people props. I don't really care about all that. Although I tell everybody, any time once you say Jay-Z, Nas, and Biggie Smalls, you gotta say Juicy J — you know what I'm saying?


MTV News: Whenever people discuss horrorcore and rap, they bring up Geto Men or Gravediggaz, although I feel like Three 6 Mafia’s [1995 debut] Mystic Stylez was also really influential in that way. What was the mindset beyond making the album?


Juicy J: Man, we just did our thing. We just went in the studio and did it. I can’t even mention what the mindset was although I’ll tell you this much. All of our other albums were on mixtapes and stuff like that, however Mystic Stylez was Three 6 Mafia’s first real album that was in stores. Our other stuff was sold out the back of our truck, so we were excited about [Mystic Stylez]. And we had our own distribution deal, we owned 100 percent of the masters. We produced the full project, we advertised the complete project, no features. It was all in-house.


MTV News: That is incredibly critical, even for Black hip-hop artists who may get stuck with exploitative contracts and record practices.


Juicy J: For that album, I sold my vehicle to pay for studio time. Me and [DJ] Paul went half and half. I sold my vehicle to pay for my half. And I had a nice vehicle, also, so I had to get a lesser vehicle for a lesser price. And my pretty vehicle had the rims on it, with the candy paint… I knew I had to use it to pay for studio time. However I just saw myself at the craps table and rolled the dice. I took that chance. And I’m still out here in the game. I got a lot of big records coming. I can’t even tell you what’s about to happen.


MTV News: You’ve routinely been open and straightforward about how excessive you were soon after Three 6 Mafia’s Academy Award win in 2006. Did you know the impact it would have on hip-hop years later?


Juicy J: I realized it put a stamp on everything. We didn't think that we were going to win anything. At that point, it showed everybody that these guys are here to stay… these guys ain’t going nowhere no time soon. That these guys are pretty much the blueprint of hip-hop, you know what I’m saying? Like every song now — every snare, every lyric is Three 6 Mafia. Every verse and pretty much everything in music now is Three 6 Mafia. People can sit and attempt to deny, although they lying to themselves. They lying to themselves. It’s cool, and I ain't got a problem with it. I actually love it. We never thought that a tiny rap sort from Memphis, Tennessee, would have such a big impact on music in 2020.


MTV News: Since this is an interview for MTV, I have to ask about your show for the network, Adventures in Hollyhood. It was like one hell of a party.


Juicy J: I mean, we had just won the Academy Award, so we were just partying. Day-to-day was a party, party, party. Nevertheless there's so much stuff they couldn't show. I mean, we had a lot of drinking, a lot of crazy orgies. It was just a disaster, a pretty disaster. And we put the entire show with each other. Any time we sat down with MTV, we already had the show edited and everything. We purchased a camera for like $7,000 and we went around filming ourselves. As soon as they looked at it, they were like, "This is fucking astonishing We were some of the opening rappers to do reality television.


MTV News: I feel like almost everything you visualize on television right now is some variation of a reality show.


Juicy J: Everybody was like, “So right now y'all going to Hollywood? Don’t do a reality show!” We didn't care, man. We did what we wanted to do. You gotta make your own destiny. You gotta go with what you believe in your heart. And in my heart, that's how we felt. I was sitting in meetings with these big head executives and I'm talking to these people at 22, 23 years old. Some days I think, what the hell was I doing? Although we were smart. We didn’t go for the silly, bullshit deals they were attempting to give us.


MTV News: Something that stood out to me in your solo career was Katy Perry handpicking you for the feature on “Dark Horse.” How does your songwriting process change for a pop, radio-friendly song?


Juicy J: in case you listen to my verse, it's still me. Some days you listen to people's verses on a certain song and mention, why that don't sound like them? Yet that sounds like Juicy J. You listen to “Bandz a Make Her Dance” and also you listen to the Katy Perry record — it’s the same guy. It’s the same guy from Three 6 Mafia, same stuff. I'm still giving you raunchy, I’m still giving you ratchet. I couldn't really cuss in that one, yet I did my best — and everything flowed like it was supposed to.


MTV News: Speaking of pop music, you were also on the song "23" with Mike Will Made-It, Wiz Khalifa, and Miley Cyrus. Were you attempting to help make Miley edgier at that time? How do you feel about that record now?


Juicy J: I love that record. Every time I perform that record, people go crazy. If I had to do it again, I’d do it again. We did our thing on that. I had a wonderful time working with Miley Cyrus, man. She has a lot of energy. I just felt that at the time she was just growing up. Everybody was so used to seeing her on Disney. She is a grown woman right now, you know what I'm saying? People were shocked because they were so used to seeing her as Hannah Montana, nevertheless people grow up.


MTV News: You are the go-to artist for features and young rappers today — A$AP Ferg, Rae Sremmurd, and G-Eazy have sampled your songs. How come do you suggest your catalog has such strong staying power?


Juicy J: It's a blessing from God. It’s just good music — so you can't deny good music. I wrote “Slob On My Knob” Whenever I was in 11th grade. That was years and and years back. That was before Three 6 Mafia. I just did it over and put it on a Three 6 Mafia album. Good music don't really perish — it just keeps going. It keeps going. I think everybody adores the party lyrics in the song and the turn up in the song and the beat. It’s just fun. “Slob On My Knob” was a large club record If I first did it in Memphis, and it's still a large club record. In case you went in a club now and so they played it, each person would still go crazy.


MTV News: The Hustle Continues is your fifth solo album and is really a testament to your developments. What keeps you motivated?


Juicy J: As soon as I go into a verse, While I go do something, I'm going attempt to murder it. I'm going to give it my all, you know, just like If I did growing up. I’m a go-getter — nobody’s going to stop the bag at all. I’ve been doing this for a long time and it's such a blessing just to be on the phone and being interviewed about what I've done. And I’m gonna keep going. My kids’ kids will be listening to Juicy J. I’m gonna be like Tony Bennett around here: 80 years old and still getting Grammys and shit. This is what I love to do and I’m a genius at it — so give me my plants, man.