The Next Next Level: A Story of Rap, Friendship, and Almost Giving Up

by Leon Neyfakh

In the tradition of Carl Wilson’s Let’s Talk About Love, an unforgettable account of fame, fandom, and the problem of making art in the twenty-first century

In his multi-hyphenate ambitions, the musician who calls himself Juiceboxxx couldn’t be more modern—you might call him a punk rock-rapper-DJ-record executive-energy drink-magnate. Journalist Leon Neyfakh has been something more than a fan of Juiceboxxx’s since he was a teenager, when he booked a show for the artist in a church basement in his hometown of Oak Park, Illinois.

Juiceboxxx went on to the tireless, lonely, possibly hopeless pursuit of success on his own terms—no club was too dank, no futon too grubby, if it helped him get to the next, next level. And, for years, Neyfakh remained haunted from was art really worth all the sacrifices? If it was, how did you know you’d made it? And what was the difference, anyway, between a person like Juiceboxxx—who devoted his life to being an artist—and a person like Neyfakh, who elected instead to pursue a stable career and a comfortable, middle-class existence?

Much more than a brilliant portrait of a charismatic musician always on the verge of something big, The Next Next Level is a wholly contemporary story of art, obsession, fame, ambition, and friendship—as well as viral videos, rap-rock, and the particulars of life on the margins of culture.




From the Trade Paperback edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Biography

194 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 7, 2015

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

An earnest enough story that's basically a fan letter from a NY journalist to his favorite underground musician: the ridiculously named Juiceboxxx. Blurbs and reviews had led me to believe it was a deeper examination of the lack of relevance for artists in the modern world, but I didn't find much of that. Mainly Neyhfakh, the journalist, writes about his own life and secret wishes to have been a musician and then uses a white rapper friend who's failed to find much success as a foil to reaffirm Neyfakh's own decisions. Nothing wrong with that. Who hasn't had existential angst and wondered about different paths potentially taken? If anything, Neyfakh is fortunate to have his friend/idol as a useful counterexample.

Even though he's mostly writing about his own life rather than Juiceboxxx's, there's a real warmth to the writing, and Neyfakh's appreciation of the rapper is apparent. I'd never actually heard of this musician, which fits with the author's idea that Juiceboxxx basically toils in obscurity. I looked up some of his music and found it not so bad, which surprised me because the book gave me the impression, perhaps inadvertently, that it would be awful. I kept reading these abysmal, trite lyrics and hearing about these silly performances and thought maybe there was some irony at work. Which would have made for a cruel and ineffective book. Nope. Completely earnest. Neyfakh loves Juiceboxxx. And earnestness is what makes this short, narrowly focused book work as well as it does.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neyfakh writes so compellingly about his friend and idol Juiceboxxx that I almost listened to rap-rock on purpose for the first time since that Kid Rock "a delicious break from potatoes" incident in 1996.

[Colleen Kapklein]

Here because will read/listen to anything Leon Neyfakh. And even though I am old and therefore removed from all he is ostensibly writing about, I found this to be a moving portrait not so much of one compelling creator, or of art/creativity/ambition/obsession, but of youth. Despite (because of) all the talk about 27 being “too late” for so much.

[Matt · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I went to high school with Juiceboxxx...He was the music nerd and obsessive depicted, but it's a frustrating read that doesn't delve into his backstory at all. He grew up in suburban Mequon and that fact wasn't referenced once, nor was his manic touring schedule even in HS. More of a self-indulgent trip into nostalgia on the part of a NY based journalist than a deep dive into what drives a singular artist.

[Mugren Ohaly · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Akin]

I wonder if Neyfakh sort of saw Juiceboxx like his benign alter ego…anyway, the chapter about Genius v Critic is literally transcendent

[Michael]

The fact that Bruce Springsteen hasn’t covered “Never Surrender Forever” and Obama hasn’t put Juiceboxxx on his end of the year music list is a true American travesty

[Samuel Hyland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not sure what to think about this book. I came across Juiceboxxx pretty randomly a couple of years ago and was instantly into the music. It reminded me of "Check Your Head" era Beastie Boys, Adrock. I got Beyond ThunderZone and bumped it in my car. I encouraged many people to listen to the music and much like the author, got little response.

So, I came into this book with a lot of hope. I wanted to see what made this person tick, keep going in an underground scene with little publicity or hype, etc. Unfortunately this book was only like that for the first 100 pages or so. It turned and became much more about the author and his experience through the music and misgivings about his own choices. I cared a lot less about the author and kind of lost interest after that. Oh, and I had a baby while reading this so it was difficult to find time to finish it.

[Evelyn Lienhard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised with how quickly this book sucked me in. I started it yesterday afternoon, and finished it this afternoon. I think the lines that caught me were at the end of the introduction, that this book "is about the difference between being an artist and not being one, and the confusion people feel as they try to figure out which one they are, or should be, or wish they were" and "about people trying to figure out what it is inside of them that makes them special, and then devoting themselves to the hard work of making it legible to the outside world." I write these out now and realize how cheesy they sound, but being at a time of my life where I am planning a drastic change of course based on being an artist, they sound like exactly what I need to be reading right now. So I may have gone into this book with an inaccurate impression, expecting something out of it that I didn't quite get.

Which isn't to say that I didn't enjoy this book. I went into it not knowing who Juiceboxx is at all. I'm only just now watching a few of his YouTube videos, and I can already tell that he's probably not for me, but I was entralled by this larger-than-life character who's never quite made it. However, I felt like this book was more about the author than it was about Juiceboxxx. And while I could relate to Neyfakh on a lot of levels (but mostly the bit on dancing), I wanted to hear more about Juiceboxxx's transition, especially now that he has a more stable job and room to rent. It seemed to me that this book was published ten years too soon, because Juiceboxxx seemed just on the verge of a big change in his life, and that's where the story stops.

This has, however, opened up a new desire for more modern day biographies in this vein. What other figures like Juiceboxxx am I missing out on because I know nothing about a particular niche?

[Jgknobler · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young journalist explores his long relationship with the musician Juiceboxxx, a rapper he met in high school who first enchanted him with his uninhibited and physical performances and has since taken on something of a "road not taken" role of starving artist, crashing on friends' couches and continuing his artistic pursuits despite a lack of recognition and support. Neyfakh sees himself as part of a more stable and conservative tradition, with his wife, apartment, and dog, but really in the scheme of things he is an artist and a curious, searching intellectual, who must realize he himself could easily have gone the Goldman Sachs route were he so inclined. My favorite parts were the passages about his parents, Russian immigrants not exactly thrilled to see their son in the thrall of a white rapper.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book through Goodreads Firstreads. Interesting story! Different than my normal reads, but I enjoyed it.

[LL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good - received for giveaway and liked