MUSIC
From Issue #20
Rochester aka Juice
Doing it right
by Sydnia Yu
Going against the tradition of hip hop’s gun-toting gangster acts in the
U.S., Rochester aka Juice isn’t afraid to admit his life isn’t like that.
“You don’t have to follow what everybody else is doing to still be hip
hop. A lot of people have this notion that ‘keeping it real’ is selling
drugs or acting like somebody who says they ‘keep it real’ instead of
being who they are.”
The Toronto-based emcee, who got his nickname
as a youngster asking for juice at his father and uncle’s bar and
speaking up with the real thing in his system, loves hip hop, just not
people fronting with 20 models and rental cars.
“I’m not hating on the
image, I just feel some cats aren’t doing it right,” says Juice. “People in
the industry only sign acts that have been shot a couple of times or
lived the hardest life. They’re letting the story of the music take over
the quality of the music.”
With the success of artists like Kanye West,
Juice believes audiences are ready for his debut album, A New Day.
“I’m not saying I’m going to be the saviour for hip hop. At the end of
the day at my tombstone people will say, ‘Yo, this guy went on his own
path and did his own thing and I respect him for it.’ And if it does end
up changing the game, I’ll feel even greater.”
Photo courtesy of Maple Music
