Less than a year after the release of his debut album Goodbye and Good Riddance, breakout emo rap star Juice Wrld shows no intention of shying away from the limelight with his new sophomore project Death Race for Love. Juice WRLD established himself with his hit single “Lucid Dreams” that soon became one of the biggest songs of last summer, which, when looking at the content of the track, is surprising. Juice WRLD is not making trap bangers or generic, bass boosted, braggadocios hip hop songs. Instead, he uses his music to explore the depths of himself in relation to love, drugs, and fame with a level of vulnerability that is not in norm for top charting rap artists.

Death Race for Love is consistent thematically with Goodbye and Good Riddance. Both touch on Juice WRLD’s history of drug addiction, his desire for genuine love, and his inability to cope with his new star status. In the album’s opener “Empty,” the rapper asserts in the chorus that that he doesn’t want to come home and how he “problem solves with Styrofoam”(in reference to sipping lean) before admitting that he feels “so goddamn empty.” With this track, Juice WRLD lets us know exactly what is in store for the rest of the project. His strained vocals during the chorus to emphasize the extent of his inner turmoil, his sleepy and melancholy delivery on the rap verses, the “woe is me” nature of the lyrics, and the Soundcloud-esque beat and production style are fairly consistent throughout the 1 hour and 22 minute duration of Death Race for Love. It is safe to say that if you are not interested in what Juice WRLD does in “Empty,” then this album is not one you will enjoy.

Although Juice WRLD does meditate heavily on love, drugs, and the wavering state of his mental health, there are tracks that somewhat divert from these central themes. Death Race for Love sees Juice WRLD attempt different styles of production, performance, and lyricism in songs such as “Big,” “Syphilis,” “Out My Way,” “The Bees Knees,” and “ON GOD” featuring Young Thug. All these tracks feature more complicated beats, intricate vocal layering, and heavier autotune as Juice WRLD spits bars that are more aggressive and flashy than anything on Goodbye and Good Riddance.

Juice WRLD experiments with a few different styles on Death Race for Love overall. “Hear Me Calling” has an island inspired drum progression that makes a song about desperately wanting an ex back extremely vibey, and even danceable. “Robbery” utilizes a high-pitched, twinkly piano sample whose sound is comparable to a Fisher Price toy instrument as he sings about, once again, heartbreak. “Big,” and “Syphilis” are not only aggressive, they also come from clear sources of inspiration. The sound, the flow, and the lyrics of “Big” could have easily been recorded by someone like Travis Scott, while the grunge sound and screaming vocals of “Syphilis” are in line with the style rappers like Famous Dex, $ki Mask the Slump God, and XXXTentacion.

While it is nice to see Juice WRLD play with his sound and lyricism, sometimes that experimentation just results in tracks that lack authenticity and originality. It is not the songs are not good or enjoyable, it is just that they sound little like Juice WRLD songs at all. “Big” and “Syphilis” are not just inspired by other artists, they are almost indistinguishable from the work of the rappers mentioned above. In this way, it feels less like Juice WRLD is trying to break new ground with these tracks and more like he is trying to assimilate to a mainstream hip hop sound that fails to land for me.

Death Race for Love is, to put it simply, a very “Juice WRLD-esque” project. Even though it tries to several times with limited success, the album sticks to its emo rap roots with moody trap tracks chock full of autotune, sad piano chords, pop punk inspired vocals, and lyrics dedicated to the portrayal of how fucked up life is. Personally, I judge Juice WRLD on the merit of his music, less on its artistic sophistication and more on its capacity for catharsis. Is Death Race for Love musically repetitive? Yes. Does Juice WRLD focus on the same themes and topics over and over again without much diversity in how he talks about them? Yes. Do some of the tracks on the album sound a little flat and generic? Yes, they do.

But at the same time, I relate to what he is saying with the project. I relate to heartbreak, depression, and not knowing how to cope and I think that having a sense of familiarity with these experiences makes Juice WRLD’s music much more enjoyable amongst some of the absurdity that exists among the production and the lyrics. Death Race for Love is far from a perfect album but it is not as bad as you may be primed to think it is.

Best Songs:

HeMotions

Fast

The Bees Knees

Rating: 6.5

Listen to Death Race for Love here:

Death Race For Love, an album by Juice WRLD on Spotify

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