biographical info
Born Jason Rochester, the tall and noticeably handsome emcee grew up in the Islington/Finch corridor of Toronto and demonstrated a unique artistic gift as ayoung teen that of a comic book illustrator.
Influenced by the likes of MarvinGaye, Dennis Brown and Jay-Z, Juice casually dabbled in the art of rhyme slinging in his old neighborhood,
at one time joining rap clique The STC (Street Terrorist Clique).
Years later when Canadas first urban radio station (FLOW 93.5 fm) held their inaugural Soul Search talent contest (in 2002),
A charismatic performance coupled with an ability to paint candid pictures through his rhymes crowned Rochester the Soul Searchs inaugural first prizewinner for his original composition Young Luv - an animated ode to early childhood romance Juices career kicked into overdrive.
His B-Boy-next-door good looks secured him a gig as the face of Athletes World/Bata Canadas recent The World Is Yours national ad campaign.
Juice was also commissioned by MuchMusic to appear in the campaign that launched urban video station MuchVibe.
He went on to pen the theme song for Basketball City on Sportsnet/Raptors Television
and to win Universal Music Canadas My Block remix contest for the song Too Long (featuring partners-in-rhyme Mhedikc and Jarod).
Rochester aka Juice's full-length debut, A New Day (released June 21st 2005 on MapleMusic Recordings) marks a Canadian urban music revolution. Not only is Juice the first hip hop act to be released by MapleMusic Recordings,
Music is expression of self. If thats not you, dont express it.
Fifteen songs deep, A New Day ushers in a new sound in Canadian music with songs like At the Top, Rochester's launch party where he boldly anticipates his impending success: Youll soon be lovin him, just give him a sec. From there the album jumps to Young Luv, his signature hit, then first single (and title track) A New Day, a song of uplift that flaunts a clever Juice-y Jamaican patois-infused hook. Over beats that range from R&B to hip-hop to reggae, Rochester conjures up new lyrical flows to match whichever beat is thrown his way.
The one characteristic that most would agree sets A New Day apart from most modern day rap recordings is the ease with which Juice captures the complexities of humanity. Rather than employ a dogmatic approach to message-relaying, tracks such as The Prayer showcase Rochester giving a fresh spin on profound subjects (e.g. abortion, God), all layered over the slickest of Tone Mason beats. The Awakening might easily go down as one of the more memorable cuts on the album, as it pits his rap persona Juice versus his alter ego Jason - a distinctively different personality and rhyme style (think Notorious B.I.G.s Gimme The Loot, but with a twist). I'm Ready features Rochester rocking over some live instrumentation courtesy of flourishing beat miner Simplisik. As certain strains of contemporary commercial rap music continue to eat themselves, Rochesters resolve to counter that approach is strengthened, with soulful pro-woman numbers like Priceless (a song he admits to writing as a response to seeing negative imagery of women all day on TV). A New Day also includes a remix of the dancehall-tinged Do It (Like We Do It) with guests Kardinal Offishall, Mayhem Moreaty and Jugganot.
In 2003 the release of this single resulted in a heavy rotation MuchMusic video and significant airplay on Flow 93.5 fm. It was released commercially via the Flow 93.5 fm Hot Wax compilation.
whether opening up for Eminem protege Obie Trice on his cross-Canada tour, or as part of the wildly popular Nike Battlegrounds street ball basketball tournament.
Im not trying to blend in, Im trying to change the rap game right now, he says point blank. Change is gonna come. Mark your calendars. A New Day is coming, for a new music generation.