 B.G. | 8Ball and MJG  |
We’ve got the world’s longest Oscar party still going on right now!
Safe money says Jordan “Juicy J” Houston, 34, isn’t your favorite rapper. In fact, stacks of stacks say he’s not even within shouting distance of your top 100. And yet, there’s no denying Juicy J’s track record. Working alongside Paul “DJ Paul” Beauregard, his fellow Memphis DJ—and an ever-expanding and collapsing cast of supporting characters that includes his older brother, rapper Project Pat—Juicy J turned Three 6 Mafia, a once easily-dismissed horrorcore sideshow, into an iconic Southern rap group/collective/camp/clique/crew/label/whatever known for dark, arresting production. Their string of successes has included a rash of unexpected hits like “Sippin’ on Some Syrup” and “Stay Fly”; an appearance on Justin Timberlake’s Future Sex Love Sounds (Jive, 2006); an MTV reality show; and famously, or perhaps infamously, the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp” from Hustle & Flow (MTV, 2005).
Nearly two decades into a career that kicked off with a seemingly endless series of underground cassette mixtapes (many of which are now available as reissued compilations), Juicy J continues his long-standing commitment to independent music with the release later this month of his second solo album, Hustle Till I Die (Hypnotize Mindz).
How’s everything going?
Man, everything is great, man, just been in the studio working. I got this solo album out. It’s called Hustle Till I Die. It’s just like a little, uh, I guess a little independent album, and then I got a new Three 6 Mafia album coming out at the end of the year.
Is that album coming out through Sony?
The independent? Nah, the independent’s not coming out through Sony, nah, nah.
But the Three 6 is?
Yeah, the Three 6 is. The independent is something we always try to keep that [going] on the side because the independent music is where the money is, and we never stop doing independent music for the fans and stuff.
What can you tell me about the album?
Well, I’m just mainly trying to keep it true to the underground because the independent underground, that’s were it started at. And, you know, I got a couple features on there. I got Webbie on the album, Project Pat, Gucci Mane, Gorilla Zoe, and I got this new up-and-coming artist from Memphis by the name V Slash. So, you know, I got a few guests on there.
You guys have been doing it for so long. Outside of the financial benefit, what keeps you motivated?
It’s just that we like doing music, you know what I’m saying? I like doing music. I like trying different stuff with music. A lot of people want to hear some of our older mixtape stuff so we try to remix some of that old stuff and put it back out, or we’ll put it back out like it’s always been. So, you know, I just like putting out music, man. Keeping the streets flooded with something. That’s our motivation right there. It’s just that we in love with music. We like doing music and making beats everyday, laying hooks and raps or whatever, laying songs everyday, so might as well put that shit out. Ain’t no use in sitting on it. Done laid about 30 or 40 songs, I’m like, shit, I’ll just put a little independent album out. Give ’em an appetizer or something before the Three 6 album come out.
What’s the title for the Three 6 album?
We ain’t got the title yet. We just still working on the music, but we ain’t got the title yet.
You guys are still handling the majority, if not all of the production, on all those projects?
Yeah, on this solo album, yeah, I did everything myself on the solo album. On the Three 6 Mafia album, we working with some different people. A few different people, you know, some real big producers.
Any names you can drop out there?
Ehhhh, I don’t want to say anything yet. It’s a surprise. It’s a real good producer, man, but it’s a surprise. People are gonna be like, what?!? They did a song with who?!? It’s a surprise, so I don’t want to open up the presents yet. I don’t want to let everyone know yet.
Okay, but that’s a tease, I got to say.
Yeah, yeah, fa sho’. I got to keep people on their feet. I don’t want to tell ’em everything.
home
