Over the last couple weeks, Chicago emcee Ju‘s alt-rap collaboration with WebsterX, “BURGANDY,” has been on nonstop repeat. There’s a great deal of catchiness in the song’s simple structure along with the idea of life repeatedly kicking you in the balls being so relatable.
On Ju’s newest joint, “The Cage,” he brings a much more dark, mellow vibe than the previous but still revolves around the same theme of life’s difficulties. Led by an acoustic guitar, Ju croons about being stuck in the throes of a relationship (or life in general) as if he’s trapped inside a cage of self-doubt and a stagnant lifestyle. There’s strong Kid Cudi vibes on this song, especially with the mix of belting, melodic rapping and simplistic production while covering personal, depressing topic matter.
Ju said that “The Cage” is the first time he’s made a song with all original production. Dating back to his work under the group Moon & Ju, he’d never made a song from scratch like he did with “The Cage.” He made the song at producer orgenA’s house along with Tatiana Hazel, who played the guitar and provided background vocals. “It was the most organic music making process I’ve ever been apart of,” he said in an email. “[That’s] probably why this song means so much to me.”
Listen to “The Cage,” which will lay on an EP of the same name, below.
