Three years after his last album release, the Late Juice WLRD dropped his third and likely final posthumous album, “The Party Never Ends.” Before the album’s release, Grade A pushed various songs and events to promote the album. The release of “The Pre-Party” EP, which featured four songs, Juice WRLD Day in Chicago on Nov. 30 and a concert in Fortnite on Nov. 30 as well. These are just a few of the ways they generated excitement around the release.
After growing in popularity on SoundCloud’s streaming platform in 2017, WRLD signed with the label Grade A Productions and dropped his debut album with “Goodbye and Good Riddance.” The song “Lucid Dreams” hit instantaneously and blasted the amateur rapper into stardom. After releasing a second album in March 2019 with “Death Race For Love,” the artist began to tour the United States. On Dec. 8, WRLD suffered an accidental overdose and tragically died. After his death, Grade A released posthumous albums with “Legends Never Die” and “Fighting Demons” and WRLD featured on various songs from big-name artists like Eminem, BTS, Maroon 5 and Halsey. I remember finding him as he rose to fame and have been a steady listener during and after his life. With so much hype being built up, I was very intrigued to see how the Album would compare to WLRD’s other projects.
While many fans spend time listening to leaked songs and hoping they get officially released, what no fan was ready for was the structure of the album. When listening to the album chronologically, various sound bites play to immerse the listener in a concert-like sound. For example, in “The Party Never Ends,” you can hear a DJ saying, “Put your cell phone lights up” multiple times. Later in “Cuffed,” we hear two characters in a restroom who say, “Mike, bro, just meet me out here.” It sounds just like being in a restroom at a concert and kind of brings you there. On the final song of the album, “Spend it,” WRLD gives some advice to his fans saying “This is your world, you control your life, you can do whatever you want to do.” These sound bites make the album a lot more interesting to listen to on your own. Additionally, WRLD has often been perceived as an artist that produces songs with sad themes, but this album feels like a celebration, with almost every song being upbeat and energetic.
One of the most electric songs on the album is “KTM Drip.” The song feels like the WRLD you would see at a concert. The energy is exuded through the song, and I can’t help but nod my head along. The lyrics of the track itself are a little more on the vulgar side, even making me laugh out loud at some points. One of my favorite lines from the song is “Ballin’ hard, feeling like D. Rose, I need a letterman.” WRLD is a Chicago native and has often referenced the city in other songs. Derrick Rose is a former NBA player who played for the Chicago Bulls, where he revived basketball in Chicago when he won the Most Valuable Player in 2011. The track connects to the celebration idea, as it leans into a more provocative and outrageous sound.
A fan favorite of the album has been “Love Letter.” For many fans, WRLD’s music has been comforting due to its themes of romance, whether deep love or utter heartbreak. This song keeps those ideas going, playing into the idea of loving a partner against your better judgment. In the chorus, “Love me, I may let her, let her. For worst and for the better.” WRLD echoes the idea that even with an unhealthy relationship, love can be enticing and draw you in whether you want it to or not. Later in the song, He connects the song to his past hit “Lucid Dreams” when he says, “Wonder why she is in my head, lucid.” The past love themes that fans and the general public have been loving are revisited in this song and to great success.
While the album has a lot of hits, some songs just don’t quite hit the mark. In the song “Adore You,” Juice sings a somber chorus about what seems to be a more cheerful idea about love and staying close to someone you care about. The song is not bad but it doesn’t fit the theme the rest of the tracks do. Similarly, the song “Best Friend” doesn’t sound right. The song features the emo-rock band Fall Out Boy, a group WRLD often credited for getting him into creating his music. This time, the two artists approach the song in a very upbeat and joyous fashion, but I can’t help but think this would be the perfect feature for WRLD to take a more downcast approach.
Overall, the album gives a much-needed celebration of WRLD’s life. His previous posthumous albums followed a general theme of depressive topics and even turned many fans off of him. With this release and Grade A leaning into the party idea, the album is a beautiful tribute to WRLD and the positive energy he gave the world. While the idea is well-executed, some songs miss the mark of being a party. If you’re someone who maybe counted WRLD out, I would encourage you to give him a second try.
“The Party Never Ends:” ★★★★☆
