In the tradition of Chuck Klosterman and Carl Wilson, 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. Acclaimed journalist Leon Neyfakh has been something more than a fan of the 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 afar: 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 normal career and lead a normal 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.