Juicy J opens “Po Up,” the fourth song from his fifth solo album The Hustle Continues, on a nostalgic note. We hear the sound of liquid filling a cup and then the Tennessee rapper-producer lists the names of several icons who recently passed away, from rappers Nipsey Hussle and Juice WRLD to filmmaker John Singleton and basketball star Kobe Bryant. The moment charts a genealogy through Juicy’s long and prosperous career; he first formed his group Three 6 Mafia with Lord Infamous and DJ Paul in 1991, the same year Singleton released his breakout film Boyz n the Hood. The Mafia released their debut album Mystic Stylez in 1995, one year before Bryant became a first-round NBA draft pick for the Los Angeles Lakers. Much like Singleton and Bryant, Juicy J altered the foundation of his chosen field, honoring its roots while blazing a new trail with an irreverent smirk.
The Hustle Continues is proof that Juicy’s sound remains unstuck in time almost 30 years later. The ear-shattering low end and hellacious synths and keyboards he’s trafficked in since his start are more popular now than ever, and he knows it. Hustle, then, is Juicy’s attempt at continuing to carry the torch, like the favorite uncle you can always count on to shut down the VIP section at the club. He sounds particularly engaged at his best, ready to occupy familiar roles with ease. He oozes menace on opener “Best Group” and “Memphis to LA,” where he trades tales of guns and death with TDE’s Jay Rock and fellow Three 6 member Project Pat. “Shopping Spree” and “She Gon Pop It” sound like the strip-club standards they’re destined to be once clubs and bars are safe to attend again post-COVID. His voice billows across the skittering drums of weed anthems “Gah Damn High” and “What I Need.” Juicy sounds like he’s still having fun and, most importantly, like he wants listeners to have fun, too.
The fun reaches another level when Juicy raps alongside younger artists. “Killa” floats a fierce piano refrain and trunk-rattling 808s down the river Styx and teases an uncharacteristically high-energy verse out of Griselda rapper Conway the Machine. Young Dolph and Megan Thee Stallion bring this same energy out of Juicy on “Shopping Spree” and “She Gon Pop It,” respectively, confirming why both continuously come to Juicy for beats on their albums.
Unfortunately, plenty of features that seemed great on paper come across as stale and awkward in execution. A$AP Rocky (“Po Up”) and new Memphis star Key Glock (“That’s The Way It Goes”) sound asleep at the wheel while others, like Jay Rock, sound out of place. Maryland rapper Logic—who’s already omnipresent throughout as the voice behind Juicy’s new beat tag—is given two features, both of which are energetic but rife with bars that crumble like Nature Valley granola (“Was never one for the Akademiks/But knew the everyday struggle”). The worst of Hustle’s features either feel like padding or derail the album’s meticulously crafted atmosphere.
The Hustle Continues isn’t concerned with rewriting the book of Juicy J. There are no risks taken and the stakes aren’t particularly high, but they don’t need to be. At 45 years old, Juicy is a legacy act whose influence can be seen in rappers from Tyler, The Creator to Travis Scott to Rae Sremmurd. He seems content with the privilege of collecting publishing on his vast back catalog and clearly relishes creating alongside his progeny in the process. When the stars align this smoothly, sometimes the best option is to simply stay fly.
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