Some artists take years to find their voice. Juice Davis built his from the ground up. A multi-hyphenate from Virginia, Juice represents a rare type of artist—one who engineers, produces, writes, and performs everything himself. His growth is audible. What began as raw experimentation has evolved into a fully-formed sound marked by control, confidence, and emotional depth. But that growth didn’t come easy. Over the years, Juice has deleted over 100 songs, driven by a feeling that the work didn’t reflect who he was—or who he was becoming. Now, with a renewed sense of purpose, he’s entering a new chapter.
Juice’s music blends smooth R&B with high-energy hip-hop, capturing the duality of his influences and experiences. His lyrics are rooted in real life—sometimes autobiographical, sometimes imagined—but always honest. Whether reflecting on his past in “OAM” or flexing his storytelling in “PAPI JUGO,” Juice delivers music that moves between worlds while staying grounded in his own. He speaks with clarity, humility, and a quiet fire that signals bigger things to come. For him, this isn’t just music, it’s memory, motivation, and mission all wrapped into sound.
Your sound has evolved significantly over time. Looking back at your earlier work, how do you feel you’ve grown as an artist, both technically and personally?
Technically, I’ve grown as an artist by learning how to mix, master, engineer, write, produce, & perform everything myself. My earlier work you could tell I was bit of an neophyte towards doing all of those activities, but as the years went by you could hear the growth…precisely. That’s a big accomplishment to me, because I don’t have to depend on anybody else, but myself. I have the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want, however I want. It brings a lot more joy & originality to my work as I see it evolve. It’s like, “Damn, I did this lol” & you can always tell it’s me. Especially coming from the area I’m from (DMV, 757).
Personally, I’ve seen my attitude & patience towards music grow a lot more now that I’m older. At a certain time in my life I felt though everything I put out was rushed. I didn’t let the art sit enough & that persuaded me to delete A LOT of work. People who listened to music faithfully would get upset about it LOL. Now everything I put out is not getting deleted, because I feel more confident when approached/discovered about my music. I’ve deleted over 100 songs throughout my years of making music…that time is over with now. I’m turning a new leaf.
You’re involved in both songwriting and production. Can you walk us through your typical creative process? How does an idea transform into a finished track?
99% of my music is personal, so therefore it’s the experience that gets me motivated. However I’m feeling for the day, I’ll open FL, start cooking some beats up, or just start writing/freestyling to beats that have been sent to me by others/or beats that I have produced. I’m always in front of my studio setup whenever I have free time. I’ll set the mic up, start mumbling melodies/lyrics, & whatever I feel though is catchy, I’ll do a quick run through for the song structure. If everything rolls off the tongue & I’m having fun, then it has the potential to be a song that’s finished.
Later on, if I’m not busy I’ll polish up the vocals on the track even though I really love the few first take vocals. The emotion is raw at that point & it doesn’t feel rehearsed. Throughout the day I’m always jotting down bars in my notes, so lyrics are never a problem. I can just scroll, pick whatever I come across & it’s like I’m instantly put into that mood when I first wrote the note down. I love that about my process.
Your music flows between smooth, melodic R&B and energetic hip-hop vibes. Do you intentionally balance these styles, or is it something that happens naturally?
It happens quite naturally. When you hear yourself on different type of sounds you tend to gravitate towards what “fits you”, if you know what I mean. Plus I lean towards music that my pops played around me often at a younger age. It just runs in the genes.
Your lyrics often reflect self-growth, relationships, and deep personal themes. How much of your music is autobiographical, and how much is storytelling?
I’d say it’s 40% autobiographical & 60% storytelling.
"OAM" and "PAPI JUGO" show different sides of your artistry. What inspired these tracks, and what message were you aiming to convey?
“OAM”, I was inspired by watching old camcorder videos of myself playing sports at a young age. It automatically gave me nostalgia. I’m basically writing to my older self to always stay motivated & not let predicaments hold me back…”I’m on a mission”. “PAPI JUGO”, I was inspired by Scarface & Goodfellas…it’s more of an “badass” song or a flex song. It’s me appreciating where I’m at in life, reminiscing on old times & ignoring those who are jealous of me. I always felt though people need to tell THEIR story & not think it’s corny/lame just because it doesn’t sound like the next man’s. That’s what makes a story unique…it’s different…it’s authentic.
As an independent artist, what have been the biggest challenges you’ve faced in building your career? How do you balance creative control with the business side of music?
The biggest challenges have been connecting & marketing. In VA, I can say majority of creatives have a “clique” & if you’re not…how can I say this without being too explicit…if you’re not bending over backwards for them…they won’t acknowledge your talent. When I was a teenager & I dropped songs, the numbers did very, very well. At that time you could tell the difference between a creative, a music listener, & somebody who has other hobbies. As I got older I started seeing people who never did music or those who didn’t want to be a creative start to dabble into it. Everybody around here wants to do music or have the spotlight in some damn way. This can make it difficult when nobody knows their place in the game. This is a reason why I think this particular area has such a weird time supporting each other.
My city is full of gatekeepers, arrogance & envy. But that’s okay, a lot of things are going to change within the next couple of years & I’m standing on that. We just have to come together. The marketing side of music…I’m still learning how to approach it all. I don’t have a manager, booking agent, mentor, or none of that. I’ve had a few approach me, but it didn’t feel right, you know? Seems like they didn’t want to build, so majority of the time I’m a student learning as I go. As of now, I’m just trying to grasp the “algorithm” of the internet by learning behaviors & patterns. I remember when you posted on social media & everybody who followed you saw it. It’s a totally different game now & learning it is crucial. How do I balance creative control with the business side of music? My answer is I simply try to have as much fun as I can & surround myself with people who allow me to be who I am. I think people forget about that & that’s when the art tends to descend.
Music videos and visuals play a huge role in an artist’s brand today. How do you approach the visual aspect of your music? Do you have creative control over your visuals?
I have complete creative control over my visuals. But I do have a friend, Carlos Barahona, who I’m starting to collab with more when it comes to visuals/music videos. He was the one who directed the “OAM” video, very talented guy, shout out to him. When it comes to the approach I always want it to be natural & not so rehearsed. For cover arts I like to use random pictures that I take throughout my days that may correlate with whatever song I’m releasing. Then I’ll try to bring it to life with motion picture effects. I think it’s a good way to keep people engaged.
Can you describe your most memorable performance so far? What made it stand out, and how has performing shaped your artistry?
My most memorable performance was at my high school’s talented show back in 2014. I performed two songs that night: “What You Know” & “No Juice”. The crowd’s reaction was nuts. It was amazing to see how quickly people caught on to the lyrics, shouting it back to me as I performed. This showed me how much of an impact my music had on people & it let me know what pocket I needed to stick to as far as my sound. You can find the full performance on my YouTube page.
Do you have any new projects, collaborations, or surprises in the works that fans should be looking out for?
Haha, yes, for sure! I do have an album coming, fasho. A lot has been in the making, mainly a reason why I haven’t been as active online. I don’t want to say too much, but right now I’ve been working with Omar Washington, P. Bentley, R3CESS, Don B, & Klu. When the time is right, things will start rolling out back to back
What do you want to be remembered for when people talk about Juice Davis years from now?
A pioneer, a hard-worker, a musician, & overall a humble man with a message that moves people
Shoutout to Juice Davis for taking the time to chop it up with us and let us into his world. From the technical growth to the personal evolution, his journey is a reminder that artistry is just as much about self-trust as it is about skill. Whether he’s pulling inspiration from old camcorder footage, flipping samples from voicemail clips, or blending storytelling with imagination—there’s a raw honesty in the way Juice creates that we respect heavy.
If you’re not already tapped in, go run it up. Follow Juice on Instagram to stay in tune with what’s next and stream his full catalog on Spotify. This current chapter is only the beginning.
And if you’re an artist doing it your own way—writing your story on your own terms—submit your music to us here. We’re always looking for new voices that move different.
