Juiceboxxx: “I never half-ass it”

Interview by Blake Morneau

Juiceboxxx, an independent rap musician who is definitely not “The Worst Rapper Ever,” recently talked to us about his seemingly relentless positivity, his affinity for Bruce Springsteen and what to eat before you die in his hometown of Milwaukee.

Do you ever find it’s an effort to stay so positive, or does it kind of come naturally to you at this point?
Yeah, of course. The music I make is in spite of my own personal problems and darkness. This isn’t just who I am. This music is made as a sort of reaction to my life. It’s just sort of a way for me to stay motivated and stay positive. This isn’t my natural state of being. I make the music because I feel just like everybody else feels. Music is made as a self-help mechanism for me sometimes.

Do you have another outlet? When did you decide that hip-hop would be your outlet?
No! I don’t have another outlet. This is all I do. It just kind of happened intuitively. I was playing in punk bands when I was 14 or 15 years old and that’s kind of the world I came from initially. I just wanted to carve out my own space within that in that vein when I was very young. Rapping just somehow found it’s way in there. It was something that I started when I was really young and it’s just grown there.

It’s always felt to me like at their roots, hip-hop and punk are coming from the same place and just ending up at very different places sonically. It’s very interesting to me when those worlds intersect.
I think we’re just part of a generation of kids who grew up listening to all kinds of stuff and my music is kind of a reflection of that. I don’t see the separation.

Listening to all kinds of things… I’ve read you’re a big Springsteen fan. What is it about the Boss?
In a way the spirit of his music is very similar to mine; a sort of deep American yearning, I guess you could say. The language he uses is definitive and very focused on expressing a certain kind of important, big, timeless message. I find a lot of kinship with how he uses language and how he performs and plays live. There’s a certain intensity to what he does and the story he tells that has always resonated with me.

Is there a particular Springsteen track or album that is especially dear to you, or that you’re influenced by?
I love Born to Run. That was kind of my entry point. It’s just such a beautiful coming-of-age record that I think most people can relate to. That’s kind of my way into Springsteen and I’ve gotten in pretty deep. I think there’s just a certain world he built through multiple records that kind of carries through. There’s a larger narrative that runs through his work that I find really inspiring, and I’m trying to do with my own stuff.

Yeah, I get that feeling with what you’re trying to do with your label, Thunder Zone. How do you describe what that’s all about?
It’s an idea, but it’s also just a label that produces music and culture. I’d like to think that there’s a spirit. I’m doing a lot of merchandising and selling stuff, but I’d like to think of it as a spirit that guides what I choose to do with a certain intensity that unites everything I do. I want to make pop culture. Even though I’m coming from a place that’s maybe more rooted in the “underground,” whatever that means. What I’m trying to say is that I’m coming from this niche zone that’s kind of my roots, but with Thunder Zone I’m trying to create something that will really connect with a lot of people, not just a small group of weirdos.

When I saw you open for Public Enemy it was one of the most intense performances I’ve ever seen and it really stuck with me. Do you find that you get the amount of passion back from live music fans that you put into your performance, either good or bad?
That’s an interesting question because it goes a lot of different ways. Some shows are really bleak, but I never half-ass it. Even if there’s one person, 10 people, 100 people or 1000, my overall approach is unchanged. I have a commitment to performing as hard as I can. The nature of the shows in the past have been pretty confrontational, so I could tell stories about fights or whatever, but that’s not really the goal, it’s just a by-product. I’m trying to keep things positive but life gets weird and shows get hectic sometimes, but that’s not really where I’m trying to go. The results have varied, but the thing that is always the same is that whenever I’m performing I’m giving everything I have and it’s really physically and emotionally draining.

I think that’s the only way to do it. I appreciate that a lot. Is there a show you specifically remember winning over a really hostile crowd?
Yeah, it happens all of the time, especially when I’m opening for a band whose crowd might not be very familiar with what I do. At this point I’m kind of zoned in on the show I want to do. I put on the kind of show that I want to see and that’s been influenced by some of the shows I’ve seen. It happens a lot. I try to be a good opening act and play for people who don’t know me or don’t care, and by the end of the show hopefully they feel something.

I have to ask about Public Enemy because I don’t know anyone who’s toured with Public Enemy. What was that whole experience like?
It was so positive. Everybody in Public Enemy, Chuck D included, were all very kind to me in a way that was incredibly life changing. They’re such good people. Seeing Chuck D and what he represents, his longevity in the game and all that he’s brought to the culture, that is just endlessly inspiring to me. Seeing how they operate and perform, just the Public Enemy show is really inspiring. It was just a very important experience. I play with a band now and for awhile I didn’t think you could combine a live band with rap music, and they kind of showed the way. Now I’m doing something that’s more rooted in rock and roll than it’s ever been, and Public Enemy were definitely the inspiration in this transformation.

There’s nothing as good as hip-hop with a live band when it works. What’s been the most unexpectedly challenging part of touring with a band? Maybe the easiest part, too?
I like to think I select good people to play with that are my friends. I have a very specific way I want the band to sound, but in those parameters the band really shines. I just got off a tour and I’m really excited with the direction it’s heading. It feels really new and fresh to me. I want to keep building on that and keep taking it further. It’s very exciting to me after years of touring on Greyhound buses and plugging in an iPod to now be able to have some guys on stage playing my music. It’s really, really exciting.

If you could tell people to read a single book or listen to a single record before their time in this life expires, what would you recommend people absorb?
Oh man, I don’t know. I guess I’d say just turn on the radio and listen to whatever is on the top 40. I’m a big proponent of being a man of the times. I love old stuff and that’s such a big part of who I am, but also I think that if I were to go out, I’d want to go out in the modern age. I think sometimes there’s nothing better than listening to whatever’s out there currently.

That’s awesome! I constantly argue with fellow music fans who want to tell me that all the good stuff is already recorded, pining for the old days and all that. That’s nonsense.
Yeah, things are better than ever. Well, they’re not better and they’re not worse. They’re the same they’ve always been, which is to say there’s always going to be endlessly inspiring culture out there. There’s a lot of great stuff out there. That’s why I’m excited about having a label like Thunder Zone. I get to curate some great music and art and present it to the world. That’s a really great feeling.

Switching gears, where’s the best place to eat in Milwaukee?
Ah man, well, Milwaukee is known for its butter burgers, which is butter in the burger and butter on the bun. I would recommend going to Culver’s or Solly’s and getting a butter burger. It’s an intense experience that might change you forever.

If you were on death row and it’s your last meal, what do you ask for?
I don’t know… a butter burger [laughs].

The home food for the home stretch… What’s coming up for you?
Working on a new record that’s almost done, a mix tape that’s almost done. I’m really busy. Making videos and working at the label… a lot of shit. Check out thunderzone.biz and juiceboxxx.com, those are updated frequently so those are good places to find me.