Juice Bruns is just a kid from Towson who’s trying to make a name for himself in the rap game. He’s a tall guy. Blonde hair. He isn’t what you would expect from a typical rapper, but he has a goal in mind; “I want to give others a positive influence,” said Bruns.
How did he become a rapper? What’s his story? Bruns is from Towson, MD, a suburban city right outside of Baltimore. He grew up as a kid playing many different sports. Bruns loved to play lacrosse the most. However, on one eventful day, Juice Bruns’ athletic dreams took a hit and then led him to making music.
Bruns went snowboarding and as he fell, he hit his head. This caused Bruns to get a subdural hematoma, which gave him slight brain damage. All of this happened while he was only in the eighth grade.
This didn’t stop Bruns from attempting to play sports again. He continued to keep plugging away at his dream of playing lacrosse until his sophomore year of high school. There he received another concussion. Bruns was told that he shouldn’t play contact sports again.
This devastated Bruns. “Sports were my entire life,” he said. “My parents also split soon after this, so it was just a tough time in my life. I began to act out and get into a bit of trouble.”
Although many things seemed to be crashing down around Bruns, he began to get into music.
The Los Angeles rap scene has been constantly ever-changing. Names from Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock come to mind. Top Dawg Entertainment, TDE for short, has brought LA rap back to the forefront of the industry. Though these established artists are making waves in the rap game, there are two other LA rappers to look out for:
Skeme
The Inglewood-bred rapper has been turning many heads lately with his work. He’s been taking rap seriously since the age of 17 and he credits the late rapper, Dolla, as his reason for turning into the game.
“Dolla kind of molded me when I was young. He shaped me into being somebody and trying to tell me what could happen if you took this s*** seriously”, said Skeme.
In 2007 he released “Skeme Of Things.” Then he followed up with “Skeme Of Things 2” in June 2009. Skeme released his third official mixtape, “All Rap’d Up,” hosted by DJ Ill on Feb. 17, 2010.
Since those releases, he’s taken off and made friends with the likes of fellow LA rappers Dom Kennedy, Nipsey Hustle, and Kendrick Lamar.
Also, a couple music critics hailed his “Inglewood” mixtape as a success, as referenced by their comments.
Bruce Smith of HipHopDX had this to say:
On Ingleworld, Skeme combines an array of styles and cadences and an unheralded but highly skilled production team to craft an album with charm and depth.
However, it wasn’t without it faults according to Olivia Arezes of Exclaim!, who gave the album a six out of ten. She still believed that Skeme could become the new torch bearer for the West Coast sound.
“Ingleworld is a valiant effort from Skeme but mediocre overall. Still, with some growth and improvement, Skeme could easily become a leader of the new West Coast sound”, said Azeres.
Jessie Schiwie of LA Weekly believes that Skeme is on the rise as well:
His most recent project, Ingleworld 2, is his most ambitious yet, with 16 tracks and a slew of bangers. Though his style has evolved and changed over the years (listen to “Don’t Lose Focus” from Pistols and Palm Trees, then listen to “Issues” from Ingleworld 2), Skeme’s wit and reputation as a storyteller haven’t changed. With his raspy voice and jaunty instrumental choices, Skeme is an eclectic MC who is always putting out new music and improving his craft.
I think that Skeme has that hard hitting flow that you’d expect from an Inglewood rapper. His grit, flow, and determination to establish his dominance in LA could give him the boost needed to be noticed. Also, he has had the attention of TDE since 2013.
You have to be someone with serious flow to be apart of TDE and I’d honestly expect to see him sign with the label if they stay persistent and willing to boost his standing that he has already made as an independent artist.
August 25th, 1998. I was 3 years old. My birthday was 2 months prior. Justin was due in a few weeks. I couldn’t read yet. It was probably a soulful year… right?
Baltimore has never had a solid group of rappers to represent the city.
Baltimore City is known for its crabs, sports teams, and well… violence and drugs. Other major cities such as Detroit, Los Angelos, Chicago, and, of course, New York have gotten their spotlight in the rap game. Music-wise, all Baltimore had in the last 20 years was King Los, Dru Hill, and the faces of Baltimore Club Mix. Little ole’ Baltimore, had yet to get it’s chance to shine until the summer of 2014.
