Juice WRLD‘s family has released his first posthumous “Righteous,” which he recorded in his home studio in Los Angeles.
The track addresses anxiety and trying to quell it by self-medicating, while also acknowledging the addiction that comes with it. “All white Gucci suit, I’m feeling righteous, yeah/ I know that the truth is hard to digest, yeah/ Five or six pills in my right hand, yeah/ Codeine runneth over on my nightstand/ Takin’ medicine to fix all of the damage/ My anxiety the size of a planet/ Holes in my skull over time/ My hearts over ice.”
“Juice was a prolific artist who dedicated his life to making music. Choosing how to share his upcoming music with the world was no easy feat. Honoring the love Juice felt for his fans while shining a light on his talents and his spirit are the most important parts of this process for us,” his family said in a statement announcing the single’s release.
In interview last year with Billboard‘s Chelsea Briggs he said, “Anxiety’ something I feel like a lot of people neglect, which is completely and utterly wrong,” he said. “And me speaking from an African-American man, I know that that stuff is neglected in our community. You tell your momma, your daddy, your auntie, whoever that you feel like you get anxiety, you feel like you have depression, you feel like you got ADD, whatever, they’re gonna look at you like you’re crazy. ‘Boy, you don’t got that! Get out of here!’ Are you going to tell me I don’t got something, though?”
“That’s not how it should be, but that’s how it is. And that needs to change,” he continued. “I feel like I’m one of those people that can bring that change, or at least start a chain reaction for somebody else to come and do it after me.”
Since the release of her sophomore album Isolation in 2018, Kali Uchis has featured on several tracks and even released some catchy tunes, such as her song “Solita.” Today she is back her new EP To Feel Alive.
A few days ago Uchis took to Instagram to tease the new EP, telling her fans that she had recorded it alone in her room while isolated during COVID-19: “recorded all of it alone, in my room, last week bcoz i won’t roll out my real album right now, but wanna give my babies Something.” The EP serves as a precursor to her much anticipated third studio album.
To Feel Alive spans 10 minutes with just 4 tracks that are packed with dreamy, electric synth-infused sounds that complement her wistful singing. The opening track “Honey baby (SPOILED!),” sets the tone for the entire EP with its hazy meloncholic instrumental arrangement.
The cover art was painted by London-based artist Oh de Laval. She explained the image in her Instagram caption stating, “art is isolation era eating por vida era of me.”
Last night Travis Scott became the second artist ever to perform a concert on the game Fortnite, with the kick off of his “Astronomical” event. During the concert he performed hits like “Sicko Mode,” “Goosebumps,” and “Highest in the Room,” but the highlight of the night came when Travis shared his new single with Kid Cudi “The Scotts.”
Shortly after the event wrapped up, “The Scotts” was made available for streaming on all platforms. Scott also released physical copies of the single on his website, along with new merchandise. The track was produced by Travis Scott, Take A Daytrip, Dot da Genius, and Plain Pat, while the cover art was created by KAWS.
Ive been wantin to work w KAWS on some shit for yeaaaars. This is another dream come true. Thanx fam!! I love it!! Sendin u mad love!
The two rappers released the track under both their names “The Scotts,” so we can only hope this means we will receive a full length project from the two sometime soon. The duo also previewed another unreleased track on Instagram live.
The duo have collaborated before on Travis’ “Way Back,” and “Through the Late Night,” as well as Cudi’s “Baptized in Fire.” Travis has previously credited Kid Cudi as one of his biggest influences, stating that he does not receive nearly as much credit as he deserves.
“I idolize Kid Cudi a lot. That’s like, my favorite artist.” Travis said during a 2018 Beats 1 special. “I think he can go bar to bar—like some people think JAY-Z is the best rapper. I feel like he can compete with that and still have his own wave. I fuck with him, because he always had his own lingo. He created a world for kids like me, who wasn’t just like, the ultimate like drug dealer. He created that vibe and that planet, where you can mack on bitches and still be smooth, and still feel like you’re the king scientist. Not everyone is as real as their music is. That artist comes once every decade.”
Last night Smino surprised his fans with the release of his mixtape, She Already Decided. The rapper teamed up with cannabis company, Select to drop the 16- track mixtape that includes features from T-pain, Sevyn Streeter, and Rizz Capolatti.
The mixtape is meant to serve as a teaser while fans wait for his upcoming third studio album, as well as a way to keep him safe during quarantine. In a message on his website SmiTransfer.com he wrote to fans:
“I made dis shit at the krib fr tryna stay sane and Inspired as much as I can mane… been smokin distancing from Da world krazy.. how hard distance hit… Shit different rn so I jus cooked some fun shit…REAL FREE MUSIC.. AINT NUN PERFECT ALL UNMASTERED N ROUGH RAW WTF EVER for y’all. Some kool ass artist on dis project dat aint care Bout no politics n just wanted to make some shit for da fun.. S/o Rizz.. S/o Arin Ray.. S/o T Pizzle my big dawg N all da producers on this mf who was down for da cause.. like Most a y’all im ducked back figuring out how to move Next off this shit…my album 100% done but … yanno.. UNTIL THEN. Baby!!! She Already Decided…Shout out to Her.“
Juice WRLD‘s mother Carmela Wallace announced on Wednesday (April 22) the launch of the Live Free 999 Fund, established to honor the legacy of her late son.
In a statement, Wallace said she established the fund in an effort to provide access to education, prevention, and treatment options for opioid addiction and other forms of drug abuse. A press release listed the fund’s goals, which include:
Providing support to programs that address addiction, anxiety, and depression in compassionate ways
normalizing the conversation on these topics, particularly in underserved communities.
assisting programs that can help people find positive ways of processing mental health challenges, i.e. music or similar creative pursuits.
Live Free 999 will be receiving additional support from Grade A and Interscope records, and is a fund of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) charitable organization.
“Young people around the world were truly touched by Jarad’s music because he spoke to issues and situations in his music that resonated with them so deeply. I was aware of his struggles with addiction, anxiety, and depression; we had many conversations about his challenges with these issues. I know he truly wanted to be free from the demons that tormented him. I made the decision upon his death that I was going to share his struggles with the world with the objective of helping others,” said Wallace. “It is my hope that Live Free 999 will help people just as Jarrad’s music has and will continue to touch lives for years to come.”
Juice WRLD died on December 8, 2019 of a drug overdose, only 6 days after his 21st birthday. He has released two massively successful albums, Goodbye & Good Riddance (2018) and Death Race for Love (2019). It was announced in January that his family has plans to release unreleased music and “other projects,” sometime in the near future.
Last night New Jersey natives like Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi, Chris Rock, John Stewart, Fountains of Wayne, Hasley, and Charlie Puth joined forces for the “Jersey 4 Jersey” benefit for the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.
However it was local native SZA, who stole the show with an angelic performance of her song “20 Something,” off her 2017 album Ctrl. After being introduced by Whoopi Goldberg, the TDE singer took a minute to shoutout her home state, “Hi, my name is Solana and I’m from Maplewood, New Jersey. We’re praying for everybody at home.”
SZA was accompanied by her producer, Carter Lang. The singer even changed some of the song’s lyrics to show her solidarity, “Everybody safe at home/ Everybody scared outside/ Everybody all alone/ God Bless you,” she sang.
