Juice WRLD - Goodbye & Good Riddance (Anniversary Edition) [Album Review]
Hello one & all. Sky Bento here once again on the check in. Big Bento Energy is definitely in full effect, and I’m here on a much more somber tip right now as I’m about to speak about something near and dear to my heart. In his tragically short time on this Earth, Jarad Higgins (known professionally as Juice WRLD) became my favorite artist. And I mean ever. Let me set the stage for you. It’s 2018. I’m trying to bounce back from a breakup and also dealing with newly surfaced traumas. My mental health was honestly in shambles. I’m two years removed from graduating college and I’m working in the mental health field myself. I’d been doing music my whole life and still felt like I’d made it nowhere. Needless to say, I had a lot weighing on me.
One day, I made my daily rounds on YouTube and stumbled across Juice WRLD via his Cole Bennett-directed video for “All Girls Are The Same”. I felt it immediately. It brought me back to a more secure time in my life, when me and my middle school cohorts would play Guitar Hero all afternoon and listen to emo rock all night. Juice’s voice and sense of melody on the record had felt like the missing piece to my puzzle, as I’d been experimenting with (and struggling at) trying to blend this emo rock influence with my background as a rapper. Juice WRLD felt like Fall Out Boy all over again to me.
I looked the guy up and quickly found his song Lucid Dreams posted on the Elevator YouTube channel. No video, just vibes. I loved it so much that I got out of bed and drove to my sanctuary - a parking lot by the beach where I would just sit in my car smoking and listening to music. I must’ve played Lucid Dreams 100 times that night. I even DM’d him on Twitter to let him know how much his music meant to me, and to my surprise he responded. It posted the record on my Instagram story almost every day for the next few months. One fateful day, I woke up to find that he had released a full album. That initial listening experience - at the beach of course - literally changed my life. So much so that with each little change to the tracklist (such as the Lil Uzi Vert-assisted “Wasted” being added the following Summer) honestly irked me. But this album will forever hold a very special place in my heart, especially now that he is no longer with us. Here we are now, three years removed from that day and the record has been re-released with two heavily anticipated “new” tracks. Let me tell you how this album feels to me.
Here is my review of the anniversary edition of Juice WRLD’s 2018 debut Goodbye & Good Riddance:
1. Intro - The thing that immediately hit me about this album on the first listen was the fact that he set the mood with an intro like this. It was honestly kind of triggering for me, no cap. Being yelled at by an ex-lover is never a good feeling. It feels like all of the energy that was once passion has now turned into hatred. The way that it sounds like a compilation of different calls and voicemails gives it this feeling like I’m reliving memories. A great way to start this emo rap opus.
2. 734 - One of two new records on this re-release. I’m so used to hearing that intro lead into the spacey cold beeps of “All Girls Are The Same” that this feels out of place. But with Juice being the artist that he is, it makes sense to hear a guitar first. In terms of the subject matter, this new record fits right in with the rest of the album. I can tell this was recorded quite sometime after this original album just by the way Juice performs it. But his trademarks are all there, the dead-sounding low voice and the whiny unwavering high notes. It does a very good job as a first song but I’m addicted to the next record.
3. All Girls Are The Same - First of all, I want to thank Kid Cudi for helping the genre get to this point. This beat always gave me major Man On The Moon vibes. And from the first “I admit it, another h*e got me finished,” you can tell Juice is over the pain. He’s not yet letting his pain out, he’s still processing and coping. This is the reflection process. This is the part where you blame your ex for everything. It even starts with describing the woman he fell in love with through the rose-tinted lenses of nostalgia. “I’m a jealous boy, really feel like John Lennon”. At least there’s some accountability to the record, but it still hits like the numb emo rap banger that it is. This was the first time I’d heard all these influences blended so masterfully. Before Juice there was XXXtentacion and Lil Peep of course (RIP to both), but neither of them had the pop punk aesthetic at a radio-ready level. This feels like a full song that you would hear being pushed by a corporate giant, while retaining all of the underground angst (even down to the poorer mixing, made especially apparent after the last record). I will always love this song.
4. Lucid Dreams (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) [Remix] - I never thought we were going to officially get this. I’ve been listening to the snippet Juice posted of Uzi’s verse on YouTube for years. Before that even came out, I hailed the original as the next evolutionary step from Uzi’s own “XO Tour Llif3”. Where Uzi’s record was more materialistic and wore it’s emo rock energy on the surface, “Lucid Dreams” is drenched in teenage angst and heartbreak. I’ll dig more into the original later, since it’s included as a bonus track on this rerelease. That’s a baffling decision to me by the way. I’ll never understood the thought process behind making the original track the bonus and replacing it with the remix on the official tracklist. Anywho, Uzi’s a perfect fit for these 808’s alone. The way the record is structured really sets Uzi’s vocals up for success. “She don’t believe in loyalty but want diamonds and pearls”. I love this side of Uzi, when he bears his heart in every note he hits. His delivery on this joint almost hits me the same way Juice did on the original. Almost. There’s so much anger in his sadness. And then the way he overdubs Juice’s hook. He knew we wanted, no, NEEDED that.
5. Lean Wit Me - There’s an argument to be made that this is Juice’s best song. That opening guitar riff feels so ambivalent, just liked Juice does for the majority of this record. “Told her if I die, I’m a die young” hits so horribly different now, but I sang the hell out of that lyric everytime as I spent my nights smoking my life away at the beach. “I know I’m not right, but I’m not wrong, no I’m not wrong”… That one always went right for my heart. Substances can really fill the void left in the wake of a breakup unfortunately. Whatever can make the feelings more bearable. We now see how Juice’s story played out, which honestly makes this that much more potent and difficult a listen at the same time. Juice sure knew how to put it all out there, vocally and lyrically. Rest in peace to the young king.
6. Wasted (feat. Lil Uzi Vert) - The original Uzi-Juice collab. It’s a shame that these two didn’t get to make more music together. They really were a bit of an emo rap dream team. Juice was very clearly a fan of Uzi, but much more straightforward in his artistry. He’s a bit more clean cut in his delivery and puts a lot of pain into his lyrics, where Uzi’s pain is more in his melodies and cadence. I never was a fan of the distortion on Uzi’s verse but his flow makes the record a lot more fun. The two balance each other out extremely well. The spacey beat compliments them both better than the guitar-driven “Lucid Dreams” instrumental in my humble opinion. Again, lyrically, this is a joint about substances helping him escape the reality of the breakup. This one is a bit darker than some of the other songs specifically because of the double entendre of wasted made apparent by the GTA reference. Although you could argue that likening death to a video game could soften the blow of the subject matter, much like running from your own sobriety could soften the blow that these same things that make you happy could also kill you. I guess that’s the “love is a drug” metaphor at work. No matter how happy love makes you, when it’s gone it hurts. I really wish these two could’ve explored that together more.
7. I’m Still - Finally, a happier song. This is that “life goes on” vibe that the album desperately needs at this point (especially with the additions of 734 and Wasted that were not on the original release). I used to shower to this song religiously, it was always a great start to my day. It’s also the first song to really classify Juice as a rapper, since he sounds more confident and gets off some triplet flows. As gratifying as it is to sing “B*tch, I’m still flexing!” it’s the “ohhhhhhhh” at the end of the chorus that gets me every time. No matter how confident we may be, there’s still an underlying pain and fear. But no matter what, we got to keep it pushing. I mean, how else are we going to bag our next girlfriends? Women don’t want a man who’s going to mope about his ex forever. We have to flex and show our strength, even if it is just a flex.
8. Betrayal (Skit) - Another skit. Same girl. I guess it’s that hard to let go. Unlike the first one, the sad piano backing track is replaced with the sound of people talking and some light trap drums. She’s at a party. Damn. She’s having the time of her life without Juice. And she wants him to delete her number? Cold. Notice we don’t even hear Juice’s voice in these skits. I think you get a better fell of all the emotions of the album when it’s laid out like this from both sides of the breakup.
9. Candles - “I don’t know if it’s because my heart hurts or if I’m insecuuuure” This record really feels like it’s Juice reflecting in real time. He’s really reflecting on how this breakup will affect him in future relationships. “Love don’t end good for me, no good for me, she’s good for me, too good”. So many simple yet effective lyrics on this record. The harmonies in the background really make him feel like a full rock band. “Just give me drugs”. More chills. The drugs really did fill the void in his heart to the point where they took his life. It’s haunting hearing him candidly speak on his addiction like this. That second verse always felt like a live performance to me. Without the trap drums, the beat kind of reminds me of 3oh!3 or Cobra Starship or Metro Station or The Ready Set... I don’t know. Super last aughts pop punk vibes with the slightly pulsing synth arpeggios. “You can’t kill me if I kill you first” has definitely been said by one of the great pop punk bands of the 2000’s. It has to have been.
10. Scared Of Love - Rhythmically, this doesn’t seem like Juice WRLD’s style upon first listen. The slight swing in the beat feels tropical and carefree, but the instrumentation feels so unsure that what was a dance feels more like a stutter step. This perfectly reflects Juice’s fear of love and more specifically, heartbreak. The whole record is sung in Juice’s higher register with the exception of right before the chorus comes back. This gives this one section a very contemplative feel, while the rest of the record feels like he’s reliving his own agony. Artistically, this record just shows the lengths to which Juice WRLD feels his own lyrics. This feels like a very specific feeling musically, a very specific point in the timeline of sadness where you’re beginning to get back up. There’s so much uncertainty in this entire composition and the sh*t is magnificent yo.
11. Used To - Honestly, this song and the two before it were what sold me on Juice WRLD as an artist. I could’ve accepted anything before this section of the album as the fluke that any artist is capable of. Surely by this part of the album there would be something that didn’t click, or disappointed in some way. Honestly, I was disappointed to not be disappointed because I wondered where he could go from here artistically. That’s probably why I like this project better than his others as a cohesive whole. Even the B-sides here are consistent. Juice was special man. Honestly too many artists could’ve made a couple songs as good and consistent as the others by total accident. But Juice shows just how much of a natural he is that even though these songs have such similar topics, they feel different enough to not get tired. There’s still new melodies and flows being explored. Nothing is lost if you prefer any of these songs over the others. They’re consistent and all have their great moments. This and “I’m Still” got me through a lot of showers for real. This has a very Summery feel to me in a more upbeat kind of way, where “I’m Still” is a bit heavier and more turnt up. I’m glad this anniversary edition put this back in my more recent playlist because the game honestly feels like it’s sorely lacking an artist like Juice now.
12. Karma (Skit) - THE PIANO AND STRINGS ARE BACK. SHE’S SAD. FLEX JUICE FLEX! What goes around really does come around, as soon as you’re over it. This is super relatable, as soon as you’re good they want to come back around, but when you were down… see “Betrayal (Skit)”.
13. Hurt Me - Sidenote: why isn’t this song called “Sticks & Stones”. This is probably the most Chicago sounding song on the project. Juice’s nursery rhyme melody about having his pole feels super Chief Keef inspired. But there’s still enough emo in his voice to feel like there’s some extra catchiness in the numbness of his whine. This is peak Soundcloud-era rap. So happy and nonchalant yet violent at the same time.
14. Black & White - Benny Blanco laced this one. This is one of Juice’s most pop sounding records, while still having his same lyrical content. It’s a more fun take on Juice’s typical drug-filled adventures. “Lord have mercy, I know that these perkies finna hurt me. Sometimes I feel like they’re doing surgery.” So bittersweet. This is one of them records where Juice feels like a rapper on a lyrical level but a popstar on a melodic level. “Black & White” is a perfect example of why he got so big in the first place. The nostalgic, underwater feeling beat with the faint guitar wouldn’t feel out of place on an early Justin Bieber record. Can’t help but wonder if the Biebs would’ve been one of his white friends.
“RIP to Prince! We got Purple Rain on deck!”
15. Long Gone - I got to say it somewhere. This is my least favorite song on the project. Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you why I love this song. It doesn’t throw off the whole album. Calling it harmless would be doing a disservice to how great it is. It’s more Juice and it doesn’t feel like a miss at all. It’s just that at this point Juice is so unbothered that it lacks the same pain that makes the rest of the album so captivating. It’s a lot more chill and less chilling. Great song but just lacks the wow factor for me that some of the other records have. “I kept all of her paraphernalia”. This song deserved an Uzi feature too, honestly.
16. End Of The Road - “I only save the money, antihero”. This record is super Chief Keef inspired as well, but in the same way that Uzi does. Honestly so much of this project feels like Uzi had to learn from Keef, so that Juice could take that emo take on drill and trap and bring it back to Chicago. Juice definitely elevated what emo rap could be. Lyrically, Juice is over it. “We doing drugs ‘til we in a coma.” He’s too high to feel the pain, and all of his friends are around. What’s there to worry about? This is the end of the road. At some point the sadness subsides no matter what, and you’ve got to cut your losses and move on.
17. I’ll Be Fine - I want to give a shout out to Lil Yachty. I really like Lil Yachty’s happy trap bangers from his early career. But it always felt like it was a great foundation could be taken further. Enter Juice WRLD. In a lot of ways Juice represented everything great about the Soundcloud era, all wrapped up in one package. This song feels extremely bittersweet as a final song, since again he’s talking about the drugs and how “he’ll be fine”. But narratively speaking, it wraps the album up as a complete package. He’s gotten over the pain, and while it’s not the healthiest way to end the story, it is an upbeat one. Then he slows things down and the beat feels empty. You really feel the pain in his voice especially as it echoes into the void of the once busy instrumental. When the music’s not there to keep you happy, you can feel just how different he wishes things were. The dissatisfaction is depressing, there’s just such an emptiness. It’s very 808’s & Heartbreak. A great end to a great album… under normal circumstances, but this is a re-release so…
18. Lucid Dreams - “I STILL SEE YOUR SHADOWS IN MY ROOM!”
Nah fam. No cap. I’ve cried to this. I normally avoid listening to this song. And yet, I can wholeheartedly say it’s my favorite song of all time. If this comes on around people, we turning up but by myself, I’m skipping it. That’s how much respect I have for this record. I associate it so much with helping me out of my lowest point, that if I hear it by myself I have to absolutely WANT TO HEAR IT. This record can never just come on for me, I feel it too deeply. That 808. The replayed guitar sample from Sting’s “Shape Of My Heart” (which I originally associated with Nas’ “The Message”). That ticking 2-step hi-hat. Them emo vocals.
“I know that you want me dead.” I felt that at the time.
“I take prescriptions to make me feel A-OK, I know it’s all in my head.” I took prescribed antidepressants and anxiety medication and I hated feeling like I didn’t have the strength on my own to fight for my mental health.
“Who knew evil girls had the prettiest face.” So childish, it’s timeless.
I know this isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. No artist is for everybody. But music to me has always been an escape. Music transports you to a mood as if it is a place. It doesn’t have to be an escape away from a particular feeling. Sometimes what you need is an escape TO a particular feeling. And from the first time I heard this record, that place was a more comfortable form of rock bottom. This record really helped me out of my own rock bottom, and I’ll never be too proud to admit that. If Juice WRLD’s not for you, that’s totally cool. But I hope that somewhere out there, there is an artist that makes you feel so strongly that you like a song so much you play it out and only listen to it when you’re ready to give it your full attention and energy. Because I refuse to half-ass how this song makes me feel. Life is too short.
999. Juice’s motto. An angel number associated with release and letting go. Juice took it as taking a negative and flipping it to a positive. I took it and got it tattooed on my wrist when he passed. This album was released when I was 23. I can imagine how this would’ve made me feel as a teenager. Juice was very much for the youth. But he spoke on behalf of genuine human emotion. And more than any music in recent years since I’ve entered adulthood, Juice WRLD’s debut album reminded me of when I was 16 and thought the world was ending because of some girl. More importantly, it reminded me that I got through it. Artists truly do know how to find the beauty in anything, even inner turmoil and struggle. It’s just such a shame that the addiction that came with coping with such intense feelings ended up cut him and his gift tragically short. As he grew seemingly happier and happier, he strayed from heartbreak and focused more on mental health. I think that’s because he realized that while love from others is certainly important, he can only win his battles if he is happy within. He fought really hard, you can hear it in every record looking back.
If you’re reading this and fighting any type of battle with your own mental health, know that you too can fight. You are not alone. It does not make you weak to get help. On the contrary, it only makes you stronger. You can call 1-800-273-8255 to speak to a 24-hr crisis center, or 1-800-662-4357 for help battling addiction. You can visit livefree999.org to learn about the mental health initiative Juice WRLD’s mother Carmela Wallace created in the aftermath of her son’s untimely overdose and donate if you feel strongly about any of these causes as well. Whatever you do, take care of yourself. Somebody loves you. We here at TDN sure do. <3
Rest In Peace Juice WRLD
Legends Never Die