Goodbye & Good Riddance

Like hearing a stranger overshare on the bus, it\'s impossible to ignore Juice WRLD\'s laments. On his major-label debut, and the first of just two full-length albums released before his passing December 2019, the Chicago rapper processed a nasty breakup by plunging into the depths of his grief and regret. Much like Lil Peep, who also passed away at age 21 two years earlier, he uses emo and trap as primary tools, with blown-out, sing-song Auto-Tune vocals accompanied by depth-charge beats and spare guitar. He lashes out on tracks like “All Girls Are the Same” and “Lucid Dreams” (“I was tangled up in your drastic ways/Who knew evil girls have the prettiest face?\") and numbed the pain with intoxicants and dark nihilism (“Candles,” “Hurt Me”), but ends on a hopeful note on “I\'ll Be Fine” (“Too busy making money to worry \'bout making memories”).

Juice WRLD’s emo-rap debut is an adolescent breakup record that is equal parts endearing and grating.