Day 8: Juice WRLD, Righteous | 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶

Juice WRLD perfectly fulfills the drugs/alcohol driven prompt of Day 8 of the 30-Day Song Challenge with his posthumous single, “Righteous.”

Embracing the trendiness of social media, The Musical Hype unleashes its own, month-long version of the 30-Day Song Challenge.

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Day 8 Prompt: A song about drugs or alcohol

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Juice WRLD marked yet another tragic, untimely passing in hip-hop, dying only days after his 21st birthday on December 8, 2019. While alive, Jarad Anthony Higgins had his fair share of demons.  His music reflected a troubling, unsettling relationship with drugs. Even so, both his potential and talent were undeniable.

The first posthumous single from the rapper’s estate, “Righteous” arrived in 2020, showing him in top-notch form musically, even if the drug references are still troubling. Because “Righteous” is a song about drugs or alcohol, it perfectly fulfills the prompt for Day 8 of the 30-Day Song Challenge.

Musically, “Righteous” represents Juice WRLD’s sweet spot musically.  He embraces a melodic approach, while also exhibiting both chill and swagger.  He has a fitting backdrop (Nick Mira and Charlie Handsome), comprised of smooth guitars and anchored by a sleek urban beat. Following the intro, Juice gives us ‘the juice’ with a sweet chorus:

“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…”

Sure, it’s hard to call something druggy sweet, but the chorus is one of the selling points, even representing Juice’s demons.  Those demons spill over into the verses, as the drugs are potent: “We may die this evening / Coughing, wheezing bleeding / … Blood moons are my eyes, stay low / Red and black, they glow.” Unsettling to say the least… It doesn’t stop there, as on the second verse, Juice WRLD goes on to say, “Too busy drinking codeine doin’ high speeds / Crash, pour a four, sip it slow, make the time pass.” Unfortunately, listening to “Righteous,” it seems tragedy and an unfortunate end was inevitable.  Though his career was a brief, Juice certainly made an impact. “Righteous” previously appeared on the playlist, 16 ‘R’ Songs Selected with No Rhyme or Reason.

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Juice WRLD • “Righteous” • Interscope • 2020

Day 8: Juice WRLD, “Righteous” (30-Day Song Challenge) [Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, Interscope, The Musical Hype, Pixabay]

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