F L A U N T

Jucee Froot is here to put on for her hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. During a time where females are taking over the hip-hop game, Jucee stands tall and proud. Arriving on the scene with her own braggadocious bars and effortless swag, the rising star continues to gift her growing fanbase with endless bangers… all while being a mom.

In describing herself, Jucee states she’s “flamboyant, a hunnid off top. A savage, a loving mother, a loving friend, and I'm a Cancer.”

Boasting 506K followers on Instagram alone, Jucee has a lot to celebrate. Last year, she was featured on the Birds of Prey soundtrack with her song “Danger,” later doing the theme song for STARZ’ P-Valley called “Down In The Valley” and of course, the relatable “No Broke Dick.” Soon after, she landed a song on the Insecure sound track with “Eat Itself.”

Fast forward to 2021, Jucee enlisted fellow Memphis rapper Moneybagg Yo to hop on the remix to her standout single “Could Never,” following their first collab back in 2016 on “Back & Forth.” Additionally, she unveils the official music video for her Christmas-themed single titled “Christmas List.”

Flaunt caught up with Jucee Froot in downtown Los Angeles to discuss her roots in Memphis, biggest influences, the recent VERZUZ with Three 6 Mafia, creating songs for P-Valley, getting signed, balancing motherhood, getting Moneybagg on the “Could Never” remix, losing Young Dolph, her fashion sense, love for Teyana Taylor, goals, and more!

You say you’re a Cancer, what does that mean?

Basically, I don't like to be embarrassed. [laughs] When it comes down to emotions, I'm very emotional, but I do hide them very well. I have a shell up, but I'm very, very friendly. People be thinking that I might be mean, I don't know. I do gangsta rap but I'm very nice in person, people just don’t know it. And I'm shy also. When I get on stage, I’m like “okay…” [laughs] Then if I see one person in the crowd singing along, I feel more comfortable.

How’d you get your name, Jucee Froot?

How I got my name is my cheeks. You know, got the lil baby face going on. My cheeks were very big, and they used to say, "Jucee, come over here!" The Froot part came from my stepdad. Have you ever seen Half Baked? It was Half Baked with the grandma and the nanny. She was mean and old, but she made pies with and she used to call them Froot Loops. That's what my daddy used to call me, so I cut off the Loops, kept the Froot, kept the Jucee, and put it together. 

I love how unique it is too. 

Being in middle school and going to high school, everybody had the cherries, spelling Juicy with the “u-i.” I'd be like, "No, two e's." [laughs]

Talk about being from Memphis. What was that like growing up? 

Being from Memphis makes you rough. I don't know no female that doesn't have that... I’ma call it the Beyoncé. How she still got that feminine, but it’s still raw. We have that type of tone come down on us. As far as growing up, it was regular. It was normal. Now when we started getting older, that's when the serious stuff started happening. I started learning about gangs, this and that. Everything. It was hard starting off, but we made it to the point where we're here now. 

Who were you listening to that made you want to rap too? 

Growing up, my sisters used to listen to Destiny's Child, Rihanna, Lil Wayne. My older sister put me on Wayne, and you wouldn’t even think she listened to Wayne. I was brought up in a church home, a Christian home. We started singing in the choir first, that's really where the music came from. I learned how to play the piano from being in the choir too, because my grandma plays the organ. I can't read notes, but I go off my ear. Drake, Flyboy Zee. For anyone who doesn't know him, he’s a rapper from Memphis. He got assassinated some years back. He’s somebody that was really, really close to me. I got him tatted on my face.

I’m so sorry.

It’s okay. Life is life, at least he’s at peace. He was the hardest one. A lot of people knew of him. He was in a group called PBZ, which was managed by my CEO. He was a really close friend. Look up a song called "Lord Have Mercy,” he was the new age Drake. Other than him, I listen to whoever's bangin'. Pooh Shiesty, Big30, Moneybagg. Three 6 Mafia, Gangsta Boo, all of them. Everybody that you could name from Memphis, I done heard of them and 9 out of 10, I know them.

What did you think of the VERZUZ?

[laughs] Being honest, swear to God: the funniest thing was Juicy J being on the mic. “Suck my dick!” He kept saying it, then he threw the mic at the wall. The person from the crowd, I knew he was from Memphis. Whoever it was, I knew he’s from Memphis. The way he rolled up: he jumped out of the crowd, rolled up, and stunted on somebody. It’s like being back at home, watching it. Not the violent part, but it’s more the hype of being pumped. It was nice watching it, I laughed. I done see DJ Paul in person, we’ve been locked in the studio. I also got a song with Juicy J. I got a song with LaChat, and I be talking to Gangsta Boo. She be out here, I still gotta link up with her.

What’d it mean to link with Juicy J? That’s legendary.

He was cool. We did the video shoot, it felt like they had known me for years. On my soul.

We gotta talk about Moneybagg Yo getting on "Could Never"! What’s that mean for Memphis?

It was something big for me, also for the city because you really don't see collaborations like that. Most people, you really don't know female rappers from Memphis like that. Of course, I'm one of them, but it's a lot of other females I know that are upcoming. You haven’t seen nobody top-tier that’s been known, that’s a female forreal because it's mostly the dudes. Linking up with him, it was good. I linked up with him before he got to where he was. We had a song called "Back & Forth.” He called me and said, "I want you on there." Getting him on the record, I did feel like nobody would fit as perfectly on that record. I'm also cool with his last baby mama, her name’s TK. It was fun, I'm happy it’s doing what he's doing. 

Bring us back to when you recorded "Could Never.” What were you on?

I was in my home studio in Atlanta. I stay in Atlanta, I moved after Zee died. I had to move, it was too much. I gotta get my baby out of here. I still love him, but had to dip out. When I made "Could Never,” I was pissed off. I ain't gon' cap. Now what I was pissed off about? I just know it had to do something somebody posted, and I don't do the internet. So I'ma take this energy, and put it into a song! “You pussy hoes could never!” The producer was from Memphis, then I got Moneybagg on it so it was a perfect fit. It was straight Memphis, the whole 901 right there on the track.

Young Dolph was a legend in his own right. How did that feel, being so close to home?

I had a song with him. He used to call me up out of the blue. He was a very caring person. It was weird because he’d wait 6 months, 3 months, and he'll call me out-the-blue, "Where you at? Whatchu doing?" type stuff. Then when I had my little girl, he got on the phone and said "Let me see her!" Nobody knew that I was pregnant. No one knew but the label, me and my people. So when I came out and revealed it, he’s like, "Let me see her!" 

She got on the phone. I swear to God, her first time she waved at him. It bothered me to the utmost, because damn." He’s the only person from Memphis who uplifted me, actually shouted me out and acknowledged me. Because that's not what people be doing. They hold people down, but he put me on his mixtape called 16 Zips. My name wasn't on there, but it still took me to a different place in life. I appreciate him for what he did, it was perfect. 

Talk about having "No Broke Date" featured in P-Valley too. 

They had me on the intro in P-Valley too. That was a blessing. I made it exactly for the show. When it came down to Insecure, really they picked it out. Because I got over a thousand songs, swear to God. I’m like "Shit, we're gonna send it to 'em and we gon’ see.” But when it came down to Katori, she had me come to the Tyler Perry studio. She showed me the visual. Man, that joint ain’t nothing like the one y'all had. They changed some stuff but after I seen it, I was motivated. I just went in the studio, she told me what she wanted. That's the thing with me: when it comes down to music, it ain't an old-school song that I'm not gonna know or find out what it is. If you tell me what you want, I’ma make sure that I master it and make sure I have backup plans. So to get 3 songs on there, plus the intro? I was so excited. 

You mentioned your label, who are you with? How does it feel to be signed? 

Atlantic and [email protected] via Loyal 100 Entertainment. It was a relief after so long, because I was independent for a very long time. I've been rapping over 10 years for sure. People have came along, but the paperwork wasn't right. When Atlantic came along, I went in there: I was supposed to play 10 songs. They heard 4 songs, they said, "We want you on." I cried so hard. "Oh my God! Finally.”

Because my momma, she is how she is and how she raised me. She wanted me to go to college and stay at my job. I said, "Mama, that ain't for me." She wanted me to have a backup plan. For her to see her child, hear her child doing these things and everybody coming up to her, I had to get to the point where ”Mama, they might think you got some money and try to do something to you! I need to get you out." 

Talk about full circle, you're a mother yourself. How old is your daughter?

My daughter's one. I had her last year. She's a pandemic baby, whatever you want to call it. 

DJ Duffey was saying that getting pregnant during the pandemic was the best time ever to get pregnant. 

I feel like it was the worst. One, you gotta think about it: I just got signed. I ain't no Cardi B. [laughs] I just got with the label, I don't want you to think, "Okay, we're finna be doing this, and she's gonna be getting pregnant back to back." I did try to terminate, I'm not gonna lie. I made a song about it. The song that I made for her's called "Jucee's Got A Baby.” I tried to terminate her, I took the pill and she’s a soldier. She came out 8 pounds, one ounce, 24 inches, not a scratch on her. Perfectly fine. After I found out the pill didn't work, they said, "So what you gon’ do?" I said, "I'm keeping her!" Obviously God, you ain't getting rid of this so I'm keeping her. I had her, that was that. I got my middle child King, and I have Treshawn, who’s my oldest child. He just turned 10 last month. 

How do you balance all that and 3 kids?

My oldest son, he's with his father in Memphis. My middle child King, he's with me. My middle child, his father passed away while we was in Memphis. He got killed on Bill Street while we was out there, so he's been with me basically all his life. But balancing it, who else gon’ do it? No one can love your child like you. Having them with me, it's really not a burden like that. They’re music babies, all of them. When they hear music, they'll sit down. 

My daughter now, when she hears her dad's songs or she hears one of my songs, she has her 2 favorite songs and she goes straight to sleep. Before my middle child could even speak, he was rapping. I got a song with him singing after me, on the mic. It's funny. It's equal to me. I used to pull up at shows, go out the stage for 15 minutes and come back out to the car. Traveling with them, touring with them, it was fun to me. What's better? Kids are the most honest and they gon' bring you life.

I saw you had your little girl in the freestyle with you. That was adorable!

She was acting up, and she was turnt. [laughs] I said "Just give her to me." Her daddy gave her to me, gave her a little Cheeto. She heard her mama rapping, she’s like, "Ooh, okay." You seen when she leaned over and looked out dude? He’s like "Yeah!" [claps]

How would you describe your fashion sense?

Teyana Taylor, I love her. [sighs] She takes my breath away. I love her. I love her body, I love her face. I love her children, the way they look. It's so much melanin and Black queen beauty really all on her. She can do the tomboy, but still being sexy. I want to do that, but I got a lil bit too much going on, so a lot of stuff can't fit me like that. If I could be styled by her and do anything with her, I don’t care, like get a breath of fresh air. That's where most of it comes from. 

Do you have any goals for yourself?

Every time I get asked that, I really don't know what to say, because my goals really just have to do with [my kids.] If anything happens to me, then my children are set for life. And Zee, I want to perform with a hologram of him on stage. If I could ever make that happen, I'd feel like I succeeded. When it comes down to winning an award, I’m speaking it in my life. I can do it, I’m working towards that. If I could get a hologram and make sure that my kids don't have to want for nothing and their kids don't have to want for nothing, I succeeded.