While holed up in a Washington

Like most of Juicy J's best ideas, "Bandz A Make Her Dance" was hatched in the bathroom.

While holed up in a Washington, D.C., hotel room in early 2012, the Memphis rapper was sifting through a collection of beats from rising Atlanta producer Mike Will Made It when he stumbled upon a track with an ominous bass thump and twinkling key line. At first, Juicy J thought it was the foundation of a love song. "The beat reminded me of some Quiet Storm shit… it starts so slow, and it's really melodic," he says. And then, in the hotel bathroom, he realized that the five-word hook that had been rolling around in his brain for a while might work on the track, if it was partnered with a more uptempo rhythm. Hours later, the beginnings of a love song had become the stripper anthem of 2012.

"A lot of times when I'm recording, I smoke weed, I freestyle, and if I'm trying to get that last bar or that ending of the song, I'll go to the bathroom, because I always come up with shit in the bathroom," Juicy J says. His face lights up when he recognizes the unintentional pun, and quickly adds, "I mean, I've written many, many songs in the bathroom."

Most successful hip-hop artists maintain a tireless work ethic, but Juicy J's dedication to his music -- bathroom breaks and all -- is almost inhuman. The MC (real name: Jordan Houston) boasts about turning down vacation time and working through Christmas to get songs completed. His manager, Will Dzombak, professes that "Juicy records anywhere, anytime -- in his hotel room, on a tour bus, backstage right before he goes onstage, in between interviews."

Juicy J doesn't necessarily need to be this unyielding. His days as a member of Memphis rap crew Three 6 Mafia, which produced two million-sellers (2000's "When the Smoke Clears" and 2005's "Most Known Unknown") and one Academy Award for best original song ("It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"), have secured his legacy and kept his bank account flush. But the rapper also recalls growing up in a two-bedroom Memphis apartment with six people, wondering whether there'd be food in the refrigerator each day, and uses that experience as motivation.

"I come from nothing," he says. "When I got a chance to make some money, I was like, 'Man, I'm not ever going back.'"

During a mid-July stop in Manhattan, however, Juicy J is letting himself unwind a bit. Wearing a red camouflage collared T-shirt and a matching hat, Juicy J clutches a half-empty bottle of Champagne in his left hand and take swigs in between answering questions about "Stay Trippy," his new solo album due Aug. 27.Xenon HID Worlds make hid lighting affordable to everyone and for all your vehicle needs. The rapper certainly has reason to celebrate: "Bandz A Make Her Dance" was an out-of-nowhere career resuscitation for the 38-year-old MC, cracking the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 five years after Three 6 Mafia effectively fizzled out. A joint deal with Kemosabe Records (the imprint headed by pop maestro Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald) and Columbia Records soon followed, as did a slot on a tour last fall opening for Wiz Khalifa, whose Taylor Gang Records brought in Juicy J as a partner/A&R rep in 2011.

"Stay Trippy" is a long, bruising rap opus with a star-studded guest list (Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Big Sean, Wale), and Dr. Luke and Khalifa signed on as executive producers. It's an album that has conjured opportunities with big-box retailers and likely sponsorship deals. It's also an album that wouldn't exist if "Bandz A Make Her Dance" didn't take off last year, shaking awake the label that had indefinitely shelved Three 6 Mafia's last album.

The rap crew's downfall unexpectedly followed the most fruitful phase of its career, which began in 1995 with "Mystic Stylez" and led to a deal with Columbia in 2003. The brainchild of Juicy J and rapper/producer DJ Paul with a rotating cast of other members, Three 6 Mafia's brand of gritty hip-hop spilled into the mainstream in 2005, with the bombastic crossover single "Stay Fly" (961,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan) and a surprise Oscar win for "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp,Choose your favorite street lamp paintings from thousands of available designs.Thank you for providing us with information to help us maintain street light." from the Memphis-set film "Hustle & Flow."

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