The Juice Crew is one of the original hip hop collectives formed in Queensbridge, New York by the late Mr. Magic & Marley Marl. Other members would include Roxanne Shanté, MC Shan, the late Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, the late Mister Cee, Kool G Rap, Masta Ace, Craig G, Tragedy Khadafi, the late Grand Daddy I.U., the late DJ Polo, the late TJ Swan, DJ Cool V, MC Debbie D, DJ Fatal, DJ Chilly Q & MC Glamorous. We’ve never gotten anything from them collectively aside from “The Symphony” single, so to hear that some of the most notable names were reuniting for an eponymous reunion EP & having one of my top 10 producers of all-time RZA of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan producing the entire thing sounded too good to be true on paper.
After a compositional intro, “Open Ya Eyes” by Big Daddy Kane was an exciting lead single working in some pianos & dropping the knowledge the world needs whereas “Makin’ It Home” by Craig G, the late Grand Daddy I.U. Kool G Rap gets in Bobby’s sampling bag dropping 3 hardcore verses without a hook. “Lolita” by Craig G tells the story of Roxanne Shanté, who eventually gets a reflective song of her own with “Roxanne the Truth”.
“Single Mothers” by Masta Ace gets the final moments of the Juice Crew’s self-titled return sending a consciously bright love letter to all the women in the world raising children all by themselves & “Game Over” finishes the EP squashing MC Shan’s issues of previously having no involvement in this project 4 months ago by letting him perform the outro talking about being street smart, which I believe’s a win-win decision for everyone.
These guys would pave the way for so many hip hop collectives for decades to come from the Hieroglyphics to the Army of the Pharaohs, the Soulquarians & Odd Future to name a few plus I know some have complained regarding RZA fully producing this extended play for the Juice Crew instead of Marley Marl, but I don’t mind because The Abbott’s boom bap production suits each of the seasoned veterans who were able to make the late Mr. Magic, Mister Cee & Biz Markie proud for still repping this culture we love over 40 years after it’s foundation.
Score: 9/10