Death Race builds on Juice’s instinct to distill emotion rather than tell a story. On the opening track “Empty,” he gestures towards the affected nihilism of his 2018 debut album Goodbye and Good Riddance and uncorks the incredible eye-roller, “My world revolves around a black hole / the same black hole that’s in place of my soul.” Death Race is rife with clunkers like these but its 22 tracks also constitute an unmistakable step forward for Juice WRLD’s sadboy aesthetic, which has now become broader and more richly textured. The album’s most compelling moments are Juice’s realizations that his money won’t solve his problems: “It’s been months since I felt at home / But it’s okay ’cause I’m rich / Sike, I’m still sad as a bitch,” he sings matter-of-factly on “Fast.” On “Robbery,” he offers the reverse humblebrag, “One thing my dad told me was, ‘Never let your woman know when you’re insecure’ / So I put Gucci on the fur / And I put my wrist on iceberg.” These admissions provide a grounding context for his emotional distress that his previous work has generally lacked; here, he appears less of an avatar of suffering and more like a human.
Juice takes a few gambles on Death Race, and they all pay off. He yields an entire song to the ruminative Baltimore R&B singer Brent Faiyaz, and he allots one of the album’s three guest verses to Clever, a 34-year-old journeyman rapper from Alabama, who yearns for Postmates more passionately on wax than anyone ever before. Death Race succeeded in its most fundamental mission, which was to prove that “Lucid Dreams” was not a fluke. Songs like “Fast,” “Ring, “Hear Me Calling” strike a dynamic balance of raw charisma and profound anxiety, and, this summer, at least one of them will likely make a run on the charts and solidify Juice WRLD’s status as a genuine pop dynamo.
| A1 | Empty | 4:08 |
| A2 | Maze | 2:24 |
| A3 | HeMotions | 3:07 |
| A4 | Demonz (Interlude) | 1:35 |
| A5 | Fast | 3:29 |
| A6 | Hear Me Calling | 3:10 |
| B1 | Big | 3:44 |
| B2 | Robbery | 4:00 |
| B3 | Flaws And Sins | 3:38 |
| B4 | Feeling | 3:22 |
| B5 | Syphils | 2:12 |
| C1 | Who Shot Cupid? | 3:34 |
| C2 | Ring Ring | 2:52 |
| C3 | Desire | 3:10 |
| C4 | Out My Way | 2:37 |
| C5 | The Bees Knees | 5:26 |
| D1 | On God | 4:10 |
| D2 | 10 Feet | 3:32 |
| D3 | Won't Let Go | 3:20 |
| D4 | She's The One | 3:09 |
| D5 | Rider | 3:12 |
| D6 | Make Believe | 2:22 |
