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2018 Made In America - Day 1

Source: Lisa Lake / Getty

Juice WRLD, born Jarred Higgins, is the singer, songwriter, and rapper behind “All Girls Are The Same,” and “Lucid Dreams.” The latter was released on his debut EP 999 back in 2017, but didn’t get single treatment until this past spring after the Chicago artist signed a $3 million joint venture deal with Interscope. Before then, Juice WRLD was pretty much unknown but his steady stream of talent caught the industry’s eyes and allowed for an insanely quick come up. Now, “Lucid Dreams” is in heavy rotation all over the radio and the visual has nearly 200,000,000 views on Youtube.

If you listen to Juice WRLD’s music, you know it’s full of intoxicating melodies with lyrics that are all about drugs, depression, and relationship drama. In a recent interview with Pigeons and Planes, the rising star said his content is all real: “Real-life experiences. Sh*t that has happened to or around me. It’s all authentic.” As for what he wants people to get out of his music, he told the publication “I want people to know they’re not alone. I want to just spread a sense of joy and fellowship with all of my fans.”

Some artists slow down when they taste fame, money, and success, but Juice WRLD seems to be going even harder now that he has some major label backup. He hit Tim Westwood‘s Capital Xtra radio show over the weekend, where he freestyled for an entire hour over Eminem beats. Rappers don’t even really freestyle anymore, but this 19-year-old went hard for over 50 minutes over beats belonging to one of the greatest rappers in the world…impressive. You’ll recognize the production to “My Name Is,” “The Real Slim Shady,” “Stan,” “Lose Yourself,” “‘Til I Collapse,” and more in the video below.

Besides the viral appearance on Tim Westwood’s show, he also released the music video for his song “Black & White” last week. “Black & White” appears on his debut studio album, Goodbye & Good Riddance, a 16-track project that also features a few of his earlier hits. In the clip, Juice WRLD stays true to the nature of the song as friends indulge in pills and liquor at an emo house party. Watch below:

As for the music that inspired him growing up, he said in the aforementioned Pigeons and Planes interview:

“Anything from Ozzy Osbourne to Chief Keef, honestly. I like all types of music. It could change up so quickly, I could be listening to Foo Fighters and then switch up and turn on my favorite Sosa mixtape. I listen to all types of music. My biggest influences are Kid Cudi, Chief Keef, Travis Scott—it’s a lot of them, bro. Eminem, I was a big Odd Future fan back in 2011. Super fan. When I was a freshman in high school and started writing and freestyling, being different was frowned upon. I kind of kept it in a box, and then one day I said “fuck it” and started listening to whatever the fuck I wanted around whoever the fuck I wanted to. Staying true to myself.”

While some will say he’s glorifying drug culture, Juice WRLD told MTV back in August that he tries his best to stay away from drugs now. “That is something I highly recommend people do not dive into because it is a really deep hole to climb out of,” he said. As he tells his own stories about narcotics through his music, we hope he continues to also push his message of staying away from drugs loud and clear.

Be on the lookout for the young king’s next move.

 

Meet Juice WRLD, The “Lucid Dreams” Rapper Who Freestyled For An Hour Over Eminem Beats  was originally published on globalgrind.com