Juice Bruns: Rapping for Positivity

Juice Bruns is just a kid from Towson who’s trying to make a name for himself in the rap game. He’s a tall guy. Blonde hair. He isn’t what you would expect from a typical rapper, but he has a goal in mind; “I want to give others a positive influence,” said Bruns.

How did he become a rapper? What’s his story? Bruns is from Towson, MD, a suburban city right outside of Baltimore. He grew up as a kid playing many different sports. Bruns loved to play lacrosse the most. However, on one eventful day, Juice Bruns’ athletic dreams took a hit and then led him to making music.

Bruns went snowboarding and as he fell, he hit his head. This caused Bruns to get a subdural hematoma, which gave him slight brain damage. All of this happened while he was only in the eighth grade.

This didn’t stop Bruns from attempting to play sports again. He continued to keep plugging away at his dream of playing lacrosse until his sophomore year of high school. There he received another concussion. Bruns was told that he shouldn’t play contact sports again.

This devastated Bruns. “Sports were my entire life,” he said. “My parents also split soon after this, so it was just a tough time in my life. I began to act out and get into a bit of trouble.”

Although many things seemed to be crashing down around Bruns, he began to get into music.

“Around my junior year, I started making some songs. I was really self-conscious though and I didn’t share it with too many people,” said Bruns.

Then during his senior year, things just changed. He began to gain confidence and became much more serious about making music.

“I got on Garage Band to make beats during my senior year and eventually I created a Soundcloud page. I didn’t know how my parents would react to me making music, but dad actually helped me with it. He has a background in music.”

Then everything just seemed to go much more smoothly. Bruns signed to Manta Ray Records Summer 2013 for nine months and was eventually offered a two-year deal. Bruns wanted to do his “own thing” though. He also worked full-time as a landscaper during this time because he wasn’t attending school.

In the summer of 2014, Bruns put together a band for his live shows. He wanted to have an organic sound during his shows instead of having purely electronic beats. Bruns moved to Harrisonburg, VA and went to community college in the fall of 2014. He also performed a show at Morgan State University during 2014.

Last winter, Bruns went to Nashville, TN to work with a friend who is a producer. There he created his album which is titled “Reconnected.”

When asked what he loved about music, he had this to say:

“Without music, I wouldn’t be here. Music gave me back my identity. I’m definitely not doing it to be cool or to get girls, I’m just doing it to help others with coping and it means a lot to me.”

Credit: Juice Bruns Music. Bruns is an aspiring rap artist from Towson.

Bruns also has an interest in clothing too. He has created his own brand.

“Kin Apparel is my brand. It represents my family. Family is the most important part of my life because they are the ones that stood by me when I was down.”

$1 of every item bought from Kin Apparel goes to the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.

Bruns wants to prove to a lot of people that he can be a successful artist from the Baltimore area and more importantly to him, he wants to help people through his music.

“Because I am from a white middle-class family, it was a little weird, but my parents began to support me. People saw how much I wanted it and it gave me even more of a drive. I feel like I have something to prove. I just want to help others with their issues through my music.”

When asked about what his plans are for the future, he had this to say:

“In the next year, I just put together a live band and we started an original project. We want to tour and hit the college scene. It’s all baby steps. Continuing to network, meet the right people and seize opportunities.”

Here’s Bruns’ song Let it Out featuring K.A.A.N.: