Composing another record of unreleased material, you would expect Juice WRLD’s second posthumous album Fighting Demons, to be an effort that does a poor job at embodying the Chicago rapper, but to everyone’s surprise, Juice’s team actually did a decent at putting together an enjoyable experience. Just off the basis of this project’s top moments like “You Wouldn’t Understand” and “Already Dead,” this album would be worth putting out, but with so many charming moments that showcase some of the directions Juice may have ended up steering his career into, most of the material here is interesting to hear regardless of how good the execution is. As nearly all posthumous releases, the songs with features feel like they are here just to fill space, especially in terms of the pop cuts with Justin Bieber and BTS, which sound like cheap cash grabs. Aside from these few holes, the album does feel complete, and with 56 minutes of run time, this is definitely an achievement to be proud of. Aside from just filling the lp with the best of what’s left in Juice’s vault, skits like “Juice WRLD Speaks” and “Eminem Speaks” serve to honor the impact Juice had on the culture and showcase just how scarring a battle with substance abuse can be. Bridging the project’s thoughts together through these heartfelt spoken-word interludes, it is clear lead executive producer Lil Bibby did everything to flesh this album out. Overall, while Fighting Demons may come with its set of flaws on top using material that was already cut from another posthumous album leaves the ceiling only so high, it’s a good posthumous record that does a fantastic job at embodying everything that made Juice WRLD a late 2010s cultural icon.
Rating: 5.3/10
Top 5 Songs:
- You Wouldn’t Understand
- Already Dead
- Rockstar In His Prime
- Until The Plug Comes Back Around
- Relocate
Written By: Mr. Fantastic
