Key Takeaways
- The album blends jazz instrumentation with Juicy J’s signature Hip Hop style.
- Collaborators include Endea Owens, Black Thought, and Cory Henry, to name a few.
- Juicy J describes the project as his “true art and emotions,” reflecting a personal creative shift.
Juicy J is inviting fans to get Caught Up In This Illusion, his new Hip Hop-jazz album, released on Friday (Aug. 15). The trippy founding member of Three 6 Mafia explores a typically untapped part of his genius for the 12-song project.
The smooth sounds of saxophones, piano chords, guitars, cellos, and more are an intentional departure from the enjoyably ratchet and synth-heavy production of hits like “Bandz a Make Her Dance” and “Stay Fly.” “It’s an instrumentation album with me singing and rapping on a few songs[.] It’s my true art and emotions,” declared the Memphis native in a message to fans.
Juicy J gets reflective on the title track, rapping, “I can’t leave this rap game alone, it still needs me/ My songs heal the hood, make me feel like Dr. Sebi/ The streets still got love for me, the industry they study me/ Got it out the mud trying to make sure all my brothers eat, and even when we gone, I influenced it forever/ Triple Six Mafia we going down as legends.” With “Can’t Take That Away From Me,” he unveils a velvety baritone, and he showcases his jazzed-up singing chops.
The album features standout collaborations, including Black Thought on “Please, Stop The Violence In Hip-Hop,” jazz virtuoso Cory Henry, and Grammy and Emmy-winning bassist Endea Owens.
The mega-producer first made his foray into the genre in 2024, when he dropped off Ravenite Social Club. In an interview for “Big Boy’s Neighborhood,” Juicy J shared that creating the body of work had been a longtime passion project. “I make a lot of conscious songs, like, even in my early Three 6 Mafia days, I was rapping conscious things in my songs. I would mix it,” he said, noting, “This album, I just felt comfortable. I listen to jazz every, pretty much every day, all through the day, you know.”
Juicy J’s 2025 music streak continues with Caught Up In This Illusion
Caught Up In This Illusion is Juicy J’s third new release this year. The rapper first linked up with Logic for Live And In Color released in June. Aug. 1 he ran it back with more heat on the mixtape Head On Swivel.
The quick turnaround between projects further cements his legacy as one of the industry’s most versatile creatives. Simply put, Juicy J is unstoppable -- whether he’s cooking up Three 6 Mafia masterpieces, providing an assist to contemporaries, or unleashing solo projects, there is no limit to his genius or his musical evolution.