Two years ago, when rapper Mekka Don lent his lyrical swagger to Juice, he never imagined the song finding an audience to match that of the football Buckeyes.
“Initially, it was something cool and fun,” said the 34-year-old Columbus native, who was born Emeka Onyejekwe. “But now it’s beyond that.”
Indeed, the distinctly local jam — playing off “Bring the juice,” a motivational phrase used at the time by Ohio State coach Urban Meyer — has become a game-day anthem of sorts, blaring from the speakers at Ohio Stadium as part of a soundtrack also featuring the more-familiar fan favorites Hang On Sloopy and Seven Nation Army.