Juicy J

MC Juicy J began his career fortuitously as part of one of the most influential rap crews of the 2000s, Three 6 Mafia. Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Juicy J, born Jordan Michael Houston III in 1975, continues to hear his eclectic hip-hop sound embraced by artists and fans alike. With Three 6 Mafia, he helped pioneer a horrorcore style of rap that blended swampy, bruising beats with psychedelic tales of life on the streets and an obsession with mysticism and hedonism. A few years after winning an Academy Award for their song "Hard Out Here for a Pimp" from the 2005 film Hustle & Flow, the group disbanded and J began plotting a solo career that would take his cult-like status to the mainstream. He helped establish the South as a hip-hop epicentre and became a certified pop star and a major proponent of the raunchy ratchet movement. In the 2010s, he won notice guesting on Katy Perry’s 2013 smash “Dark Horse” and Rae Sremmurd’s 2018 hit “Powerglide.” On solo albums like 2020’s THE HUSTLE CONTINUES, J found a middle ground between the grit and grime of his Three 6 Mafia days and his later radio-friendly pop moves. His influence on hip-hop is still growing—Travis Scott and A$AP Rocky are fans—and the rapper shows no signs of slowing down. On “THAT’S THE WAY IT GOES,” he spits, “How long you think you can do it? Forever.”