At some point in hip hop history, the producer switched roles from artist to artisan, meant to churn out a consistent, homogenous product that serves a practical purpose and is easily consumed. If such a producer is what you seek, you’re in luck. You can find them pretty much anywhere, just not here.
Dissatisfied with the current nomenclature of his craft, Juicy the Emissary is an aural architect, arranging sounds to create unshakable structures capable of accommodating the most fastidious audio dwellers. His latest work, Cultural Refugee, is an instrumental album themed on the cultural impacts of the evolving media market.
His work’s appeal is vast and it’s no wonder when you consider the depth of his musical background. Born and raised in the music-mecca of Denton, TX, he began guitar lessons at age 9 and by his first year of high school, he was studying with UNT Jazz faculty, gigging with various bands, playing bass, keys, drums, turntables, samplers, 4-tracks, and singing in a barbershop quartet.
After graduating, he studied music at UNT, taught guitar and bass at The Music Conservatory of Texas, and began to perform as an emcee with groups like Vortexas, Fab Deuce, and New Vintage, touring the country and sharing the bill with names like Wu-Tang Clan, Bernard Wright, Jurassic 5, DJ Logic, Hieroglyphics, & Vans Warped Tour. But as any decent producer does, Juicy has always spent most of his time in the studio, which is reflected by his extensive catalog.
Besides his 6 full-length releases and many additional credits as a producer and lyricist, the Emissary has arranged and composed numerous pieces for modern dance in collaboration with UNT, TWU, BYU, and The University of Delaware, which have been performed in competitions and festivals from New York City to Kingston, Jamaica.
An artist with true versatility, Juicy the Emissary cannot be bound by genre or industry borders. While he may be best known for his “nocturnal beats” and “austere, chamber music hip-hop,” (www.RapReviews.com) his broad musical perspective is reflected with projects like B3′s Famous as Fuck, an ironic parody on corporate rap that mops the floor with major label clowns.
Sadly, in the 21st century, beat-making has become a despicable hobby of the talentless, ignorant “musician.” But with the help of producers like Juicy the Emissary, perhaps this massively misunderstood art form can salvage some dignity in a world that continues to exploit it at the expense of our culture’s revered artistic integrity.
