Both tracks reiterate the love and comfort that Juice finds within his relationship. A lyrical shift in the tracklist is found after the Trippie Redd-assisted “Tell Me U Luv Me,” which explores Juice’s need for the light of intimacy in his dark, drug-controlled world - a theme central to his debut album, “Goodbye and Good Riddance.” Within the collaborative songs with Halsey and Marshmello, Juice breaks his previous mold as he raps over more pop and electronic elements. Ultimately, the album focuses on his core dilemma between traumatic heartbreak and coping: “If it wasn’t for the pills, I wouldn’t be here / But if I keep taking these pills, I won’t be here,” he laments on “Wishing Well.” Even his newfound fame and money does not bring him fulfillment, as he emptily spends his checks in “Fighting Demons.” However, Juice still finds moments of confidence that were minimally present on previous records: “Conversations” has Juice resisting talks with the devil, while “Righteous” presents him as imprisoned by substance abuse but nonetheless angelic. This tight list places Juice in creative leadership of his posthumous project, a trend continued from his previous albums however, “Legends Never Die” also continues the trend of having a beefed-up runtime (55 minutes), and this homogeneity may deter those who don’t deeply feel for his musical territory. The album’s small feature list notably includes Juice’s fellow emo-rapper Trippie Redd, as well as singer Halsey, with whom Juice collaborated on the remix of her 2018 hit “Without Me.” This list is rounded out by some of rap’s newcomers - Polo G and The Kid Laroi - as well as Fortnite’s favorite DJ, Marshmello, who offers his anthemic EDM production style. Similarly, the themes run through his dependence on codeine and pills, struggle with mental illness, and desire for intimacy. It strongly follows the stylistic choices that have run through his previous albums and songs: soft acoustic guitar melodies, followed by thumping 808s, all topped off with Juice’s signature auto-crooning. “Legends Never Die,” the first in what appears to be a series of posthumous Juice albums, aims to memorialize the impact of Juice’s emotional work. Alternatively, Mac Miller’s posthumous “Circles” received universal acclaim as a cohesive and thoughtful accompaniment to his “Swimming.” Controversial rapper XXXTentacion’s death was followed by a series of releases, viewed as cash-grabs by his mother, along with a series of half-baked albums that were promo’d amongst allegations of his mother using his money for exorbitant purchases. His death was haunting, especially given seemingly predictive lyrics such as “What’s the 27 club? We ain’t making it past 21” from his song “Legends.” Many grieving fans found themselves wondering how his music would be released posthumously. Juice’s life tragically ended on December 8, 2019, as he overdosed on opioids in an attempt to hide drugs from a federal raid. His genre-advancing sound and talent meant he earned the respect of both old and new figures in rap, dropping a collaborative album with Future and being enlisted by Eminem for a feature on “Godzilla,” Em’s most popular single as of late. In this league, Juice distinguished himself with his lyrical focus on heartbreak and his fight with drug addiction, along with his ability to freestyle songs. After rocketing to the top of the charts with his seminal hit “Lucid Dreams,” Juice joined the ranks of such artists like Lil Uzi Vert, Trippie Redd and Yung Lean who defined the genre by use of slurred, autotuned singing over woozy beats. Jarad Higgins, or Juice WRLD, was the introduction to “Emo Rap” for many.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |