Juicy J is sweeter than ever

October 22, 2012 at 12:00a.m.

These days being a hip-hop veteran likely means your first radio or club hit came out two years ago.

That’s why MC Juicy J (aka Jordan Houston) can be viewed as a rare elder statesman of rap. The Tennessee native first gained national prominence as part of Three 6 Mafia.

Over the past 20 years, the platinum-selling act has sold more than 20 million records and enjoyed eclectic hits with “Stay Fly,” “Sippin On Some Sizzurp,” “Lolli Lolli” and the Academy Award-winning “Hard Out Here for a Pimp.” The latter track was from the 2005 film “Hustle and Flow.”

Today, Juicy J is still grinding away, only in a solo groove. He made his presence known once again this past summer with the strip-club anthem “Bandz a Make Her Dance” (featuring Lil Wayne & 2 Chainz).

“I was just trying to make a good song that would fly all over the place,” said Juicy J. “And people caught on to it like crazy.”

Apparently, that includes some critics, who have called it Juicy J’s best performance to date. This brings up an interesting question regarding the “Make it Rain” track: Did the rapper have to do any special hands-on research to craft the perfect gentlemen’s club track?

“No, I’ve been going to strip clubs all of my life, so I already know what goes on,” Juicy J said. “I didn’t have to do too much thinking on that. That just naturally came.”

Something else that came naturally to the MC was going solo. He is an opener on Wiz Khalifa’s tour, which comes to Cleveland on Tuesday.