Juicy J

Jordan Michael Houston III (born April 5, 1975), known professionally as Juicy J, is an American rapper and record producer. Originally from Memphis, Tennessee, he is a founding member of the Southern hip-hop group Three 6 Mafia, established in 1991. He released ten studio albums with the group, which began as an underground act until attaining mainstream recognition and signing with Loud Records, an imprint of Columbia Records in 2000. The group's 2005 single, "Stay Fly", yielded their furthest commercial success, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. That same year, they recorded the song "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" for the film Hustle & Flow, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

His first two studio albums, Chronicles of the Juice Man (2002) and Hustle Till I Die (2009), were released in between Three 6 Mafia projects. He further pursued solo work during the group's hiatus in 2011, and signed with Dr. Luke's Kemosabe Records — an imprint of Columbia Records — and Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Entertainment (as both a recording artist and A&R) the following year. His club-oriented 2012 single, "Bandz a Make Her Dance" (featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz), peaked within the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 and led his third album and major label debut, Stay Trippy (2013), which peaked at number four on the Billboard 200. In the following two years, he guest appeared on the commercially successful singles "23" by Mike Will Made It, "I Don't Mind" by Usher, "She Knows" by Ne-Yo, and the Grammy Award-nominated "Dark Horse" by Katy Perry, the latter of which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100. His fourth album, Rubba Band Business (2017), was met with commercial failure, and he returned to an independent career with his fifth album, The Hustle Continues (2020).

Alongside recording, Juicy J has been prolific in production work for other artists—having largely handled the production on Three 6 Mafia projects with DJ Paul—with credits on singles or albums for Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, T.I., Ludacris, Sexyy Red, GloRilla, and Chief Keef, among others. He is the younger brother of frequent collaborator and fellow Memphis rapper Project Pat.

Jordan Michael Houston III was born on April 5, 1975, in Memphis, Tennessee. As a teenager, he read a multitude of books and essays on the music industry, learning about marketing, publishing, and royalties. He looked up to fellow Tennessee artist, Al Bell, who was the brief co-owner of Stax Records.

Houston wrote the lyrics for the 1999 Three 6 Mafia track "Slob on My Knob" in 11th grade at North Side High School.

In 1991, Juicy J was a co-founder of the Southern hip-hop group now known as Three 6 Mafia. Along with DJ Paul and Lord Infamous, rappers Crunchy Black, Gangsta Boo and Koopsta Knicca. Alongside DJ Paul, Juicy J has launched Prophet Entertainment. In 1994, they left the label to their business partner Nick "Scarfo" Jackson and subsequently launched Hypnotize Minds. In 1995, the group released their first official album called Mystic Stylez. Since then the group has released 8 albums. On July 2, 2002, he released his solo debut studio album Chronicles of the Juice Man, under North North Records. In 2006, Juicy J, along with DJ Paul, Crunchy Black, and Frayser Boy, won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "It's Hard out Here for a Pimp" at the 78th Academy Awards. On June 16, 2009, his second studio album Hustle Till I Die, was released under Hypnotize Minds and Select-O-Hits.

From 2009 through 2011, Juicy J moved away from Three 6 Mafia, focusing on his solo career. During this time, he frequently collaborated with Wiz Khalifa, appearing on his mixtapes and releasing some of his own, including Blue Dream & Lean. In December 2011, Juicy J confirmed rumors about him as the newest member of Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang imprint, a part-owner and A&R representative. In 2012, he was featured alongside his Taylor Gang label-mates, on the cover of Source Magazine's May 2012 issue. In 2012, he released the lead single to his third album Stay Trippy, the chart topping "Bandz a Make Her Dance", which features guest appearances from 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne. The song was created in a two-bedroom apartment in Washington, D.C., and was produced by Mike Will Made It. The song has peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

In September 2012, Juicy J secured a recording contract with Columbia Records and Dr. Luke's Kemosabe Records. In November 2012, Juicy J announced his third studio album Stay Trippy would be released in 2013. He had shown some interest in working with Nas, Dr. Dre and Jay-Z on the album. He later announced that guest appearances on the album would include Wiz Khalifa, The Weeknd, Lil Wayne, 2 Chainz, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Project Pat, Young Jeezy, Yelawolf and Big Sean. Juicy J revealed the album would feature production from frequent collaborators Lex Luger, Sonny Digital, Mike Will Made It, Dr. Luke, and Crazy Mike.