Album review: Juice WRLD’s ‘Fighting Demons’ (2022)

Juice’s self-reflective lyrics and unique sound will resonate with longtime fans

LUIS GARCIA

Fighting Demons is Juice WRLD’s fourth studio album and the second album that was released posthumously after his passing in December 2019.

This album takes us through the struggles and conflicts Juice WRLD would face daily, dealing with topics like drugs, depression, anxiety, heartbreak, and relapse.

In the introductory song “Burn,” Juice WRLD gives us a strong introduction with orchestral elements that set the tone for the rest of the album.

The third track, “You Wouldn’t Understand,” is more inclined to Juice’s “classic” sound, with a basic trap beat and melodic vocals; however, the track has a unique instrumental that compliments his voice.

The same can be said about “Not Enough,” which is perhaps the most emotional song on the album. The guitar in the background embodies a Nirvana-esque melancholy, helping the listener understand the pain and exhaustion that Juice felt as drugs, alcohol, friends, and love never seemed to be enough for him.

Similarly, in his song “My Life in a Nutshell,” he expresses his negative perceptions about himself and his situation in a notable line: “Heaven’s so far away, I’m startin’ to love Hell / They know me for my talent / But don’t know how my pain feels.”

Unfortunately, the listener may feel tired after hearing 19 tracks with the same type of message, but those tracks are necessary for Juice to fully explore his own experiences with anxiety, drug use, and depression, and to help others who are facing similar experiences.

Juice WRLD is just one artist of many who have passed away at an early age in the past couple of years (he joins Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, Avicii, Mac Miller, and Pop Smoke).

The idea of releasing a posthumous album like Fighting Demons is always a controversial topic. There have been situations in the past where family members or record labels try to profit off of a traumatic event, one of the most recent cases being XXXTentacion who has more songs released under his name after his death than when he was alive. In my opinion, the production quality of XXXTentacion’s posthumously released songs is low, making evident that he wasn’t ready for the public to listen to them yet and that they were released only to generate profit while fans grieved over his passing.

However, in the case of Fighting Demons, the release can be looked at positively, since the production quality is very good and Juice expresses everything he can on the album’s tracks and provides support to his fanbase.

On his “Juice WRLD Speaks” track, he states that “me talking about certain things can help others who are going through the same.” He also said that he would often use the number 999 on his social media, explaining that since 666 represented the number of the beast, 999 was a way of saying that any negative life experience can be flipped for the best.

Overall, it is a well-produced album. Although it’s difficult to listen to in one sitting, you eventually understand exactly the message that Juice was trying to leave for his audience. Juice WRLD fans around the world now have a proper goodbye letter from their hero and can use it for comfort if they ever face similar struggles.

Juice WRLD’s posthumous work reflects on his struggles with depression, anxiety, drug addiction, and heartbreak. CREDIT: UNSPLASH

CFRU’s Monthly Top 10 Albums

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

BEVERLY GLENN-COPELAND* Keyboard Fantasies Reimagined (Transgressive) TANYA TAGAQ* Tongues (Six Shooter) FKA TWIGS Caprisongs (Atlantic) LES LOUANGES* Crash (Bonsound) MAYLEE TODD* Maloo (Stones Throw) TARIK ROBINSON* Rotations (Makebelieve) BEATRICE DEER* Shifting (Musique nomade) THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE The Day Computers Became Obsolete (No Type) NICK FRASER QUARTET* If There Were No Opposites (Hathut / Ezz-Thetics) CHURCH OF TREES* Pish Posh (Self-Released)

For the creator in all of us!

CFRU offers FREE training, use of high-quality recording equipment, and (remote) opportunities for on-air and behind-the-scenes projects.