Fighting Demons

About

Released nearly two years to the day after his tragic death, Juice WRLD's second posthumous album sounds even more haunted than the first. As the title suggest, the songs here hinge on the rapper's inner battle, and it's a brutal listen. He goes round after round with his addiction, mental health, and self-destructive behavior, seemingly fighting back and giving up in turn. Metro Boomin's gorgeous string-propelled production on opening track “Burn” brims with melancholy to set the mood for what's to come—as Juice declares midway through, “The truth hurt, let it bleed out.” And there are many painful truths to reckon with on <i>Fighting Demons</i>. “Rockstar in His Prime” dispels the notion that money and fame are any match for inner turmoil and the quest to numb or escape it. His dance with death, whether as a lifeline or a foregone conclusion, exposes the depth of darkness that can poison a mind; what is a platitude to someone who, as he admits on the harrowing “Already Dead,” hasn't felt alive in years? It's uncomfortable but worthwhile to understand what a person is up against and to consider that the act of saying it aloud, without fear of judgment, may not be glorification but a potential path to healing. .

via Apple Music

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