"Juice" is a song by American rapper

Chance the Rapper Chancelor Johnathan Bennett (born April 16, 1993), known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago, Bennett released his debut mixtape '' 10 Day'' in 2012. He ...

, released on January 31, 2013 as the lead single from his second mixtape ''

Acid Rap ''Acid Rap'' is the second mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was released on April 30, 2013, as a free digital download. In July 2013, the album debuted at number 63 on the ''Billboard'' Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, due to bootleg dow ...

'' (2013). It was written by Chance and Nate Fox, who also produced the song.

Composition

"Juice" is a midtempo song, built around a loop of

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and arranger whom ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto", "This Christmas ...

's live performance of "

Jealous Guy "Jealous Guy" is a song written and originally recorded by English rock musician John Lennon from his 1971 album ''Imagine (John Lennon album), Imagine''. Not released as a single during Lennon's lifetime, it became an international hit in a v ...

" by

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. Chance the Rapper sings and raps in a comedic manner; his verses in the song have been described as having a "freewheeling, bluesy sway" that "gives way to raucous call-and-response choruses". He references the 1992 film ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

'' (of which the song's title originates) and playfully taunts the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

while warning about the pitfalls of being successful.

Critical reception

The song received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Craig Jenkins of ''

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'' wrote that it "finds Chance displaying better control of his abilities and treating the gear shift from rapping to singing less like the flick of a switch, as older songs did, and more like a pendulous drift." In addition, Jenkins commented that "'Juice' sounds off-the-cuff, but the delivery is a touch too technical for that to be the case". Similarly, Chris Martins of ''

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'' praised Chance's "striking delivery", writing that "He rhymes, sings, and shouts with exuberance, unafraid to get a little goofy if it'll make the song better, all while making good on his claim". Writing for ''

Earmilk ''EARMILK'', sometimes stylized in all caps, is a North American online music publication. Launched in the late 2000s by Montrey Whittaker, Blake Edwards and Eric DeFazio, ''Earmilk'' publishes on a variety of music genres, often covering hip h ...

'', Aaron Thomas remarked that the song "may be one of his more accessible songs to date, with a fitting beat that doesn't distract from his strong lyrics and approach."

Music video

The music video was directed by Austin Vesely. It sees Chance the Rapper bouncing around

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

at night. Neon signs of advertisements and department stores appear in the background, some of which provide imagery and visual references of the lyrics. For example, when Chance lyrically alludes to the film ''Juice'', a portrait of rapper

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

(who starred in the film) flashes across a billboard.

Streaming version

When ''Acid Rap'' was re-released on streaming services on June 28, 2019, "Juice" was replaced with a 30-second spoken message, in which Chance the Rapper explains the song is excluded from the mixtape because of an uncleared sample. Chance then adds that all streaming proceeds for the alternate version of "Juice" go directly to

SocialWorks SocialWorks is a non-profit organization founded in Chicago in August 2016 by artist Chancelor Bennett (also known as Chance the Rapper), Justin Cunningham, and Essence Smith. SocialWorks was founded in support of Chicago Public Schools (CPS). S ...

, a non-profit organization which he founded, and encourages listeners to replay the song all the way through, for payment to be received.

References

{{Chance the Rapper 2013 singles 2013 songs Chance the Rapper songs Songs written by Chance the Rapper