Album of the Week: Juice Wrld “Legends Never Die”
Welcome to “album of the week”, or “hot track of the week”. This weeks album of the week has got to be Juice WRLDs “Legends Never Die”. Honestly I was never a huge Juice WRLD fan when he was alive, and I now realize that that is a God damn shame. I was a fan of songs like “Lucid Dreams” and “Black & White” but other than that I thought he was just apart of the mumble rap wave. I was wrong.
One thing I can really appreciate is when artists dive into things deeper than the rockstar lifestyle. Now, believe me I love a good Lil Pump banger as much as the next guy but artists that can touch on things deeper then that I believe are special and stand the test of time. Its also sad that we have lost a lot of artists like that such as Lil Peep, XXXtentacion, and Mac Miller(one of my all time favorite artists). Part of the reason I think we lose really talented people like this is because what makes somebody great like that takes a toll and we see it generation after generation.
The album starts with a really insightful monologue from Juice. Juice? I guess that would be the shortened version of his name anyways
“At the end of the day I still thank God for everything that, you know, he's put in front of me. But this materialistic money stuff don't really mean nothin', like, you know my relationship is good, I got money, but there's still other issues to talk about other than heartbreak. You've got anxiety, you've got substance abuse, you've got, you know, and there's a lot of issues in the world to talk about… Before I get up out of here, I wanna tell you that you can do anything you put your mind to, period. As long as you work hard, give it your all and don't listen to what anybody got to say, it's your world, you can do what you want, on bro, period”
This has direct correlation to almost everything I am doing right now. Except I don’t think music will be my platform at the end of the day.
On another interlude on the album Lil Dicky talks about how Juice would just go in on a beat and lay down tracks in three minutes. Just go in and freestyle three or four takes of one song and then just be like yeah pick the best one to the producer. To me that concept is so insane. Dude was so good at his job that he would show up and just talk and just drop hits. Also guy is an absolute elite freestyler. I don’t know how I didn’t know about any of this until Friday
Top 3 Songs of the album
3) Man of the Year
Favorite Lyric:
“Let's raise our hands, let's sing and dance
I know my lyrics saved you, I know my lyrics saved you
Let's raise our hands and sing and dance
I know my lyrics saved you, I know I helped you break through”
There might be better songs on this album but I like that it showed the range of genres Juice could reach. This song reminded me a lot of “Up All Night” By Mac Miller off Blue Slide Park. Its easy to hate on artists for trying things outside of their genre but nailed it on this song. Also Im a white guy that likes that kind of music.
2) Titanic
Favorite Lyrics:
“At the end of the day, I'm blessed, oh yes, crack a smile with it, smile with it
Now frownin' again, life goes so fast, watch it blow in the wind
Can't get time back, I been beggin' for it”
Ok now this song touches on a lot of really deep stuff. Lets start with my favorite quote. I think just about anyone can relate to this. You are supposed to feel “blessed” ya know. Cant get any better right? But for some reason it always feels like theres something more that you’re missing, something that you missed, or something you wished you had done. In a lot of ways its what makes being human great, but also one of the most torturous parts of being human.
I think this song not only is one of the best sounding and flowing on the album, but one of the most relatable to an overthinker. This is where thinking about the fact that he would lay down three or four of these per track in a 20 minute session is just absolutely insane. Here is the chorus:
“There's a lot going on in my head right now
But I manage (But I manage)
Good heart, good soul, both been in bad hands
I can deal damage (Yeah, real damage)
Both hands in the air as I scream out prayers
My demons show their face in the midnight air”
Are you fucking kidding me. This guy really was a God damn genius
1) Come & Go (ft. Marshmello)
Favorite Lyric:
“You tell me ain’t nobody better than me
I think that there's better than me
Hope you see the better in me
Always end up betterin’ me”
Not a lot of lyrics on this one but Marshmello can make any song a banger. This is the one we are going to be hearing on the radio
Conclusion
Definitely one of the top 3 albums of 2020 so far. Who knows what Juice WRLD could of accomplished if he hadn’t been cut short. Of the 21 tracks on this album I would say 15 of them are likes on Spotify and 4 of the songs I wouldn’t like are interludes. This album made me a huge fan of Juice WRLD and so much more sad that he is gone.