By Gary Suarez in Newsletter — Aug 30, 2024

Friday Afternoon Rap Roundup: Juicy J

A review of the Three 6 Mafia co-founder's jazz joint, plus the week's new hip-hop album recommendations

In an effort to continue CABBAGES' overarching mission of independent hip-hop/rap music discovery, I'm trialing this weekly series to let readers know about new releases from artists grinding and thriving outside of the major label system. Each installment of 'Friday Afternoon Rap Roundup' features one highlighted album review/recommendation, plus a short selection of new or recently dropped projects for your weekend listening consideration.

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Release Highlight of the Week:

When you've topped the Billboard Hot 100, won an Academy Award with the first ever rap song to do so, and published your memoirs to critical acclaim, it's probably time to start making some jazz. Over the decades, Juicy J's career took him far from the Memphis he emerged from, yet his signature style not only made music a career for himself and his associates but continues to make hits via samples and beats for others. The pliability of the thick, irresistible sound he cultivated alongside DJ Paul in Three 6 Mafia means he can stretch into other areas without diluting it. And so, we get Ravenite Social Club, an inventive extension of what the trippy trendsetter does best. Reteaming yet again with Three 6 Mafia engineer Crazy Mike, the 17-track project sounds distinctly organic when compared with the rest of his catalog. To call this a jazz album may feel like a stretch to genre purists, even with the presence of credible players like trumpeter Chris Gray, tenor saxophonist Pete Ortega, and drummer Stanley Randolph. But his use of live instrumentation to construct productions not altogether unlike his recent material reflects his stated influences here, particularly boundary pushing legends like Herbie Hancock and Grover Washington Jr.

His cadence carries throughout the record's run time, that reliable flow and tone hitting right where it needs to hit on "The Past Is The Past" and the Gambino cautionary tale "Don't Go Out." Never in thrall to the system, he rages against it in the name of the hood on "The Higher Ups" and offers up lived-in advice for those still there on "Consequence." With his wildest days thankfully behind him, he expresses a certain joy in his elevated domestic life, spoiling his beloved on "Deserve It" and beaming in fatherhood on "Everything All Good." Wealth and fame have long been part of his brand, and that manifests in interesting ways on "Payment." Still, the most impactful moment here comes on "To You," in which jazz giant Robert Glasper helps Juicy mourn his departed Three 6 Mafia friends.