HIP-HOP Juice WRLD Shrugs Off Michael Jackson Comparison, Calls Working With Future 'A Blessing': Exclusive

After carving out a path for himself with his emo-leaning single "Lucid Dreams," Juice WRLD has morphed into a sought out collaborator. Earlier this month, he and Future joined forces for their joint mixtape, WRLD on Drugs, which found the rap tandem shelling out syrupy melodies all throughout their 16-track effort.

"I thank God for it. It's a blessing," Juice WRLD told Billboard at Powerhouse NYC on Sunday night (Oct. 28), regarding his joint collaboration with Future going No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Prior to his explosion on the mainstream front, last year Juice salivated for a chance to align himself with the Atlanta heavyweight. In 2017, Juice spoke out on his wish to collaborate with Future through a tweet. "The day I make a collab tape with @1future is the day I made it," he wrote. Fast forward a year later, and the twosome pushed 98,000 album equivalent units in just their opening week.

"I really just like making music," he said on the black carpet."People call that 'work.' Like, 'Oh, you're going to the studio to work?' No, that's even what I do in my off day. I love recording. So I'm gonna keep doing it."

Though Juice has proven his crooning prowess with a series of tuneful records such as "Lean Wit Me" and "Wasted," the Chicago hyphenate has proven to be adept at freestyling. On two separate occasions with Tim Westwood, he flexed his lyrical mechanics with hour-long freestyles. "I feel like that's what's going to be most respected at the end of the day, that I'm able to do so many different things and become less of a rapper and just more as a musician," he said.

While Juice WRLD continues to hone in on his craft as a musician, he still isn't a fan of comparisons. Two weeks ago, G Herbo called him "the new Michael Jackson." While flattered, Juice was caught off guard by his friend's comment.

"He should have texted me and told me he was going to say that when he said that," quips Juice WRLD about his fellow Chicago comrade. "People was hitting me up about it and I don't put no labels on myself, so I don't have any opinion on what he said. Like I have no opinion on it whether I think it's true or not, but he should have let me know because people were hitting my phone like, 'Oh, you're Michael Jackson.' It was funny."

Juice WRLD is rumored to have multiple joint projects in the works with Lil Yachty and Murda Beatz. Let's see if the 19-year-old will release another mixtape before the year closes out.