Juicy J is a 47 year old rapper, songwriter, producer & record executive from Memphis, Tennessee who rose to stardom in the 90s as the co-founder of the seminal Three 6 Mafia alongside his Tear Da Club Up Thugs cohorts DJ Paul & the late Lord Infamous. He’s also had the most successful solo career out of everyone in the Mafia whether it be the Taylor Gang Entertainment/Columbia Records-backed Stay Trippy & Rubba Band Business: The Album or even his last full-length The Hustle Continuesunder his new MNRK Music Group imprint Trippy Music. Last year he dropped Stoner’s Night with Wiz Khalifa as well as Space Age Pimpin’ with Pi’erre Bourne over the summer & the predominantly Lex Luger-produced Crypto Business in the fall, but is surprise dropping his 6th album out of the blue.
After the “Help You Need” intro, the first song “Going Thru Sum Shit” is a dark trap opener detailing the struggles of what Da Juice Man has been dealing with as of late whereas “Gettin’” takes a more chopped & screwed route talking about all the things he’s chasing. Xavier Wulf’s verse on “No Man” is underwhelming despite the slowed down vocal loop, hi-hats & theme of not being able to trust a single soul just before “I’m Stressin’” has more tense vibe sonically opening up about his stresses.
After the “Falso Reality World” interlude, Aleza comes into the picture for the vibrant “Ain’t Cool” to discuss how motherfuckers ain’t cool with one another hence the title even though they from the same hood leading into “Drink to Escape” returning to chopped & screwed turf touching on alcoholism as a way to cope with depression. “Memphis Made It” is a more heartfelt trap ballad paying tribute to the city that raised him, but then La Chat joins him for the bluesy “Deadbeat” portraying a toxic relationship.
“Different Type” weaves in some more hi-hats & a syrupy vocal sample to talk about the new times we’re in while “Demon of Addiction” symphonically tackles the complex disease that there is in fact hope of overcoming. “No Rapper” has a more rowdier vibes calling out the phonies even though Aleza, K Carbon & Slimeroni’s performances don’t do much for me at all with all respect until “Pay Attention” makes up for it with a cloudy trap joint about schizophrenia.
After the “Mental Health Crisis”, the song “Work Out” aggressively asks where the dollas at with a boring Finesse2tymes feature attached to it while the final song “Follow Home Robbers” prior to the “Juicy’s Pain” outro brings the late Gangsta Boo into the fold which is fitting because I’m sure the album as a whole was inspired by her unfortunate passing at the beginning of the to portray themselves as such so vividly over a morbid trap beat.
Some people including myself have felt like Juicy’s last couple solo albums tackle the same subject matter as solid as they all are, but I think Mental Trillness is the most personal we’ve heard from him in a while. The production plays to the Memphis trap sound that he helped popularize when Triple 6 broke out onto the scene & as he gives everyone a look at how he’s been handling Lady Boo’s untimely death throughout the past couple months.
Score: 4/5
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