In the old days, fame was like pornography you knew it when you saw it. Fame was life-altering. And so, for that matter, was fandom, which was huge and obsessive and far-removed from what it worshiped. In his multi-hyphenate ambitions, the musician who calls himself Juiceboxxx couldn't be more modern you might call him a rock musician-hip-hop artist-DJ-record executive-energy drink-magnate-t-shirt entrepreneur. But in his tireless, lonely, possibly hopeless pursuit of artistic success on his own terms and his own terms alone, Juiceboxxx is a man of the old school. No club is too dank, no futon too grubby every indignity is worth it, if it helps him get to the next, next level. Acclaimed journalist Leon Neyfakh has been something more than a fan of Juiceboxxx since he was fifteen years old, when he booked a show for the artist in a church basement. And though their trajectories over the next decade could not have been more different, Juiceboxxx's wandering, difficult path toward success would continue to haunt Neyfakh: was art really worth all the sacrifices? And if it was, how did you know you'd made it? 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, and ambition and also viral videos, rap-rock, and Japanese t-shirt enthusiasts.
