MC Juice was an unbelievable freestyler. That’s not meant metaphorically. The Chicago veteran, for years arguably the biggest name on the battle circuit, is above such hyperbole. Juice was such a talented freestyler, people literally didn’t believe the verses he put together could possibly be off the dome. “Some cats can’t think quickly,” he says in DJ Organic’s documentary Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme. “And they can’t comprehend anyone thinking quicker than them. If I couldn’t just go into a zone, close my eyes, and just go…I wouldn’t even believe it.”

Juice spent his teenage years in California, but moved back to his birthplace of Chicago after graduating high school. It was there that he began building his musical career alongside Windy City icon Rhymest, eventually dropping out of college to pursue a life in hip hop. His reputation as a freestyle battler, with his laid back almost scientific style of delivery and pinpoint schemes, gradually grew as he demolished competition across the state of Illinois. It was at Scribble Jam in 1997 where Juice would lay down his claim to the battle rap throne against a stacked field including Rhymefest himself, Dose One, and of course, Eminem.

The six-round marathon finals that pitted the then unknown Marshall “Eminem” Mathers against Juice is rightfully considered one of the greatest battles of all-time, and not solely for the names involved. Both MCs put on clinical displays that would define their careers for years after the fact, Eminem as the international superstar he became, and Juice as the most terrifying battle rapper

Juice’s victory and ensuing appearances on the Wake Up Show caused heads and rappers alike to accuse him of writing his frees, an accusation he always took as more of a compliment than an insult. His abstract style clashed with what most considered to be the nature of freestyling, and led to one of the most hyped battles ever against the king of observational frees, Supernatural. The epic affair ended with Juice in an unfamiliar position, taking a controversial loss, the first of his battling career.

Taking a hiatus from battling following the defeat, Juice returned to Scribble in 2003 with an impressive showing. While he eventually bowed out of the competion to upstart rapper Yo Mama’s Pimp, he proved his skills had not diminished with time. In 2007 he joined with a six-piece live band, whom he still performs freestyles with today. Despite the dramatically different climate the battle world has become, Juice still feeels he could be successful and has shown interest in returning to the scene. “Whatever it is you need to be one of the top freestyle cats,” he waxes on Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme, “I got it.” Whatever it is, it isn’t going anywhere.