In recognition of Black History Month, Atwood Magazine has encouraged artists to contribute essays exploring themes of identity, music, culture, inclusion, and more.
Today, Chicago rapper Juice Mazelee presents his essay, ‘Time Is Black,’ as part of Atwood Magazine's Black History Month series!
“I often feel emotionally and creatively trapped,” he notes. “It can be as if I’m restricted to a linear concept or space. I hope readers will gain a new perspective from this piece. Time is a blend of your past, present, and future in a single moment. Everyone perceives moments differently, and that’s what I’m conveying here—what time feels like in my Black skin.”
Mazelee has consistently collaborated with various Chicago artists—like Ifeanyi Elswith and Wyatt Waddell on his debut—and his newest album, ‘HERE NOW N FOREVER,’ showcases a diverse range of Chicago talent from hip-hop to jazz, featuring D2G, The Third, Rudy P. Magic, Vani Indu, Christopher Robbin’, Chris Greene, and others.
Atwood Magazine previously remarked, “Each track in Mazelee’s collection offers a profound exploration of the human experience, disassembling the complexities of being an individual in a world that can often be harsh and unkind. Yet, the songs brim with intense passion and capture the rapper’s fiery spirit.”
Juice is also an engaged member of his community, collaborating with local theaters and even meeting former President Barack Obama through his work with the organization, My Brother’s Keeper.
In his essay, Mazelee contemplates the nature of time and its connection to his Black identity. “This piece reflects thoughts I find difficult to convey through rap,” he explains. “I often need moments to thoroughly capture the current feeling or experience I’m undergoing. When these moments occur, I tap into my writing. This is also an excerpt from a chapter in my book, ‘HVN AINT HARD TO FIND,’ that I’m currently writing.”
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by Juice Mazelee
Time is reason.
We all grapple with the concept of time and its authenticity. I frequently engage in deep contemplation about beginnings and endings, and how time is inevitable for everyone while remaining an intricate subject.
Based on our understanding, time is meant to pinpoint an exact moment—at least that’s what we’re led to believe. Time provides justification for no reason. It exists for us to acknowledge the moment, enabling us to state our age, our birthdays, and when we are expected at work.
Time can serve as a mechanism of control—control we lack.
Being a Black artist allows me to create something that transcends time’s constraints.
Something I can manage independently of external influences. I often ponder what time signifies in relation to space. Pure Blackness, where silence resides; where countless occurrences unfold simultaneously—new lives, new deaths, knowledge of the known, and secrets of the unknown.
To me, time mirrors the Black experience. So, once more, let’s begin this reflection with the question: what is time?
My answer is simple: Time Is Black. – Juice Mazelee
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Chicago Rapper Juice Mazelee on Legacy, Identity, and Why He’s ‘HERE NOW N FOREVER’:: FEATURE ::
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Chicago rapper Juice Mazelee presents his essay, ‘Time Is Black,’ which contemplates the experience of time "in [his] Black skin," as part of Atwood Magazine's Black History Month series!