Happy 20th Anniversary to Juggaknots’ second studio album Use Your Confusion, originally released October 31, 2006.
I’m going to make this clear from the outset: I won’t be able to articulate properly the artistry of Juggaknots with this tribute. And I won’t be able to do their legacy justice. During a period when much of my favorite music was coming out of the New York City underground, this group was putting out some of the best music of the era. From their debut through today, the emcees involved in the group continue to display vast amounts of skill, hitting the target with incredible frequency.
There is an argument to be made that Breeze Brewin, one of the group’s emcees, is one of the best to ever touch the mic. Breeze fits the description of “your favorite emcee’s favorite emcee.” Equipped with a breathy monotone, he is a gifted storyteller, composing some the most unique narratives recorded. He’s also a top-notch, creative battle-oriented emcee, expertly turning phrases and devising clever references. Furthermore, Queen Herawin, co-lead emcee in the crew, is also an amazing lyricist, attacking the mic without fear or hesitation.
Juggaknots are a family affair, their ranks made up by a trio of siblings. Paul and Peridot Smith, a.k.a. the aforementioned Breeze Brewin and Queen Herawin, handle the majority of the rapping duties. Meanwhile, Kevin Smith a.k.a. Buddy Slim works mostly behind the boards, DJing occasionally and sharing production duties with Breeze.
Unfortunately, Juggaknots have released precious few albums since their inception. They had a brief stint at Elektra/East West Records in the mid-1990s, contributing a song to the faux live album IllStyle Live (1995). Their 1996 self-titled debut was one of the few full-length albums released on Bobbito Garcia’s Fondle ’Em Records, featuring the talents of Brewin and Buddy Slim.
After they put out their debut, the crew joined the ranks of the Indelible MCs, made up of fellow luminaries Company Flow and J-Treds, whom they became friends with while working the underground scene. Brewin also took on a “starring” role on Prince Paul’s A Prince Among Thieves (1999), portraying the project’s doomed protagonist. Herawin also began contributing to the crew during the late 1990s, establishing herself with her sharp vocals and flow.
The group fell silent for a stretch of time during the first years of the 21st century, spending much of the early ‘00s dealing with family and work commitments. Both can understandably get in the way of recording music. Aside from a few 12-inches and the re-release of their debut (2003’s aptly titled Re: Release), their only other project is Use Your Confusion, released 20 years ago. Even with the decade gap between full-length projects, Juggaknots do not disappoint with Use Your Confusion, one of my favorite albums of the ’00s, featuring great lyrical performances and outstanding production.
Listen to the Album:
The album starts on a celebratory note with “Hey,” featuring Breeze and Herawin trading two to four-bar bursts, incorporating various vocal samples into their brief verses. “When the odds against the squad’s intense,” Brewin raps. “Like a zealot that’s yelling in God’s defense.” Breeze also produces the track, incorporating thumping drums and high keyboard squeals, while DJ Boo lays down wax-melting scratches.
Brewin details the group’s origin story on the DJ Eli produced “The Namesake.” He describes the process of the crew navigating their way through the NYC underground scene throughout the 1990s, including recording demos, holding court in open mic nights, demonstrating their skills on radio shows, and performing at spot shows wherever possible. He depicts the ups and downs of the grind, plotting out the often arduous process of earning respect from one’s peers and audience, and ties everything together with bookending references to the Notorious B.I.G.’s “The What.”
Overall, Use Your Confusion often focuses on conceptual fare, with the group exploring deeper meanings behind behaviors, social interactions, and constructs. They delve into the situations that can often lead to forsaking the truth on “Liar, Liar,” while commenting on the complex circumstances, malicious or otherwise, that a grin can hide on “Smile.” The two emcees describe their desire for material wealth on the B-Money produced “New $$$,” viewing financial success as a means to improve the lives of themselves and their crew, and rejecting the idea that a musician has to choose between artistic integrity and monetary gains.
The crew does have some fun describing their dalliances with members of the opposite sex. Breeze lampoons the misbegotten efforts of wanna-be pick-up artists on “Leon Phelps” (a.k.a. SNL’s Tim Meadows playing The Ladies Man), laying down laughably weak game to a chaotic, self-produced track. “Strip Joint” is equal opportunity when it celebrates the pleasures of the flesh, as it features both Breeze and Herawin describing their exploits at various Gentlemen’s and Ladies’ clubs.
Juggaknots enlist the assistance of various well-respected O.G.s throughout Use Your Confusion. Breeze teams up with the legendary Slick Rick on the Oh No-produced “Vows,” where they tackle the importance of keeping your word and the power of the promises that they make. Brewin later enlists Sadat X to help on “30 Something,” an insightful exploration on how one’s lifestyles and priorities change once they get older. Though the idea of facing a “midlife crisis” while in your thirties seems quaint now, Breeze details his efforts to take better care of himself and asserts that he has a lot more tread on his tire.
Herawin contributes a solo track with the poignant “Daddy’s Little Girl,” also produced by Oh No. She describes the oft-overlooked difficulties of growing up as young Black woman in New York City, working to stay afloat in a potentially hazardous environment. She encourages fathers to have those “uncomfortable talks” with their daughters so that they can better prepare them for all the trouble and pain life can bring.
The soulful “Movin’ the Chains” is my personal favorite entry on Use Your Confusion, as Breeze and Herawin reflect while “feeling straight James Bondage” on the soulful track. The pair refuse to acknowledge any limitations and pledge to face any adversity head-on. Brewin’s final football-inspired verse is a highlight, as he raps, “Shit is real: fourth and long, the verse pounding for the first down and / I’m forging all for my losses, y’all.”
The album ends with the “Crazy 8’s” posse cut, where 12 different emcees, made up of “old” and “new” friends of the group, drop eight-bar verses to a bugged out J-Zone beat. It’s good to hear some of the veterans of the mid-1990s scene, such as J-Treds and Lil’ Sci, drop potent verses along with then-rising stars like Jax and Big Tone.
As stated earlier, Juggaknots’ output has been sparse since Use Your Confusion. A little over a decade ago, the Chopped Herring imprint released Baby Pictures (2015), a collection of their late ‘80s/early ‘90s unreleased demos. However, we’ve never gotten a proper third full-length from the group.
That said, both Breeze Brewin and Queen Herawin have been relatively active starting in the mid-2010s and continuing throughout the 2020s. Late this summer, Herawin released her debut solo album, DOTOM : Death Of The Old Me, which is solidly enjoyable. Breeze put out Hindsight (2021), a collection of solo material he’d recorded over the previous decade. He continues to contribute outstanding guest verses to new projects for both his mid to late 1990s contemporaries as well as some of the emcees that grew up admiring him.
It’s not easy to make an album where the subject matter mostly surrounds abstract concepts and deeper meanings behind seemingly prosaic gestures and phrases. Yet Juggaknots made it look easy. Even though it can be hard to convey what made their music work so well, its potency has not been diluted. And with emcees rapping well into their fifties these days, I hope they give their audience more music and soon.
Listen:
