December 8, 2021 marked two years since Juice WRLD tragically died at Chicago's Midway Airport in 2019.
In the years since the "All Girls Are The Same" rapper's passing, hip hop has made sure to keep his soul and spirit alive in a myriad of ways, but with his second posthumous album Fighting Demons set to release tomorrow, December 10, MONTREALITY spoke with a handful of his friends in the rap game to commemorate the life and legend of one of the most impactful artists in recent memory.
Rounding up SoFaygo, SSGKobe, Lil Durk, Bloody Osiris, Brent Faiyaz, Big Sean, Lil Keed, Migos, DJ Scheme, Trippie Redd and Ski Mask The Slump God, the eight-minute MONTREALITY video titled "in memory of Juice WRLD" paints a picture of a young, hungry rapper, determined to make it to the top and bring everybody along with him.
Lil Durk, said that every time he got in the studio with his fellow Chicago native, Juice WRLD made him go harder than he thought he could.
"He was like, an icon. Not just saying it 'cause it happened to him, he had an advantage to be the next, coming out of Chicago, the next Kanye type sh*t. 'Cause he was smart. Personality crazy. Music genius," Durk said. "He put pressure on me ... rest in peace Juice WRLD."
Much like Durk, Big Sean said that, despite Juice's young age and short time in the game, his raps were inspirational, and directly from the heart.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
"Juice. I mean, tremendous, extraordinary, talented, honest, artist. That's gonna live forever. Those songs, that honesty, that music, how raw it was, uncensored. That inspires me to stay that raw, stay that uncensored. I appreciate it, for real," Sean said.
Trippie Redd, who included a Juice WRLD feature on his latest project, Trip At Knight, told MONTREALITY that Juice was hilarious, and that he saw him as a real-life brother.
"He was a great ass friend. He was just funny as f*ck. He used to do funny ass sh*t. I don't know. He used to be funny as f*ck ... He was one of us, for sure. He was definitely in the friend group," Trippie said. That was just my brother. We just vibed differently because we got it. Long live my brother."
While fans and fellow rappers have shared their excitement for Fighting Demons (as well as the upcoming Juice WRLD: Into The Abyss HBO documentary) it will be interesting to see, and hear, exactly what the new album turns out like. With features from Eminem, Polo G, Trippie Redd and Suga from BTS, Fighting Demons already feels like an attempt at a commercial record—more so than his first posthumous record, Legends Never Die.
Keep an eye out for Fighting Demons when it drops at midnight, and check out the full MONTREALITY "in memory of Juice WRLD" video below.