Juice WRLD, “In My Head” | Track Review

The spirit of Juice WRLD continues to thrive on his honest and tragic but utterly sublime posthumous single, “In My Head.”

“Fill my lungs with ganja / When they fill my brain with drama / From my past, I have all this trauma / Getting cash, hope the racks solve my problems.” Tragically, a traumatized, issue-laden Juice WRLD has long proven to be a highly inspired Juice WRLD.  The rapper, who passed away at the age of 21 in 2019, continues to be a fixture in the hip-hop world.  His emo-tinged, melodic brand of rap hit different while he was alive and continues to be influential long after his unfortunate demise from an overdose.  Making things even more gut-wrenching is how his music – again, alive, and posthumously – is a cry for help.  The fabulous “In My Head” is a testament to this.  It’s a great song but utterly tragic, to say the least. 

“In My Head” commences with moody vibes, which suit the Juice WRLD aesthetic.   TrePounds, Max Lord, and Sheldon Ferguson provide the perfect backdrop. Although we’ve heard the late rapper embrace his struggles time and time again – alive and posthumously – it never grows old.  Juice WRLD is honest about his mental health and substance abuse.  “They wondеr why I get high as fuck /  They wonder why I gеt high so much,” he raps, adding, “Um, I’m trapped in my head too much.”

Final Thoughts

All told, Juice WRLD shines on “In My Head”.  His melodic performance is beautiful even though he’s clearly plagued by issues.   What’s saddest about “In My Head,” or so many of his other songs is that his coping mechanisms – money and drugs – ultimately didn’t solve his problems.  He admits this in the chorus, himself (“Getting cash, hope the racks solve my problems /… But it don’t work, no, it won’t work out / Yeah, it don’t work, now the pain’s worse”).

Juice WRLD • “In My Head” • Grade A Productions / Interscope  • 10.28.22

[: Brent Faulkner, Grade A Productions, Interscope, The Musical Hype, OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay]