Death Race for Love explained

Death Race for Love
Type:studio
Cover:Juice Wrld - Death Race for Love.png
Artist:Juice Wrld
Recorded:2018–2019[1]
Genre:
Length:72:04
Label:
  • Grade A
  • Interscope
Producer:
Prev Title:Wrld on Drugs
Prev Year:2018
Next Title:Legends Never Die
Next Year:2020

Death Race for Love is the second studio album by American rapper Juice Wrld and the last to be released during his lifetime. It was released on March 8, 2019, by Grade A Productions and Interscope Records. The album's artwork and title are inspired by the Twisted Metal series of video games for the original PlayStation console. The production on the album was handled by multiple producers including Nick Mira, Boi-1da, Hit-Boy, No I.D., Frank Dukes, and Tommy Brown, among others. The album features guest appearances from Brent Faiyaz, Rvssian, Clever, and Young Thug. The bonus track edition adds an appearance from YoungBoy Never Broke Again. The bonus track edition features the 2019 single "Bandit".

Death Race for Love includes the Nick Mira-produced lead single, "Robbery", which was released on February 13, and the Purps-produced "Hear Me Calling", which was released on March 1. While the album received a generally lukewarm response from critics, it was a commercial success. It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, earning 165,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It became Juice Wrld's first US number-one album. In October 2021, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Promotion

On February 7, 2019, Juice Wrld announced the album on Twitter, writing: "I'm losing my mind and loving every minute of it... Just in time for the drop of the album... MARCH 8th..."[3] On February 20, Juice Wrld revealed that he would be headlining a North America concert tour in support of the album with fellow rapper Ski Mask the Slump God.[4] On March 4, he revealed the official tracklist for the album.[5] Juice Wrld appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to perform "Hear Me Calling" on April 8.[6]

Singles

The album's lead single, "Robbery", was released on February 13, 2019. The song was produced by Nick Mira and peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[7] [8] [9] The album's second single, "Hear Me Calling", was released on March 1, 2019. The song was produced by Purps and peaked at number 38 on the Hot 100 following the album's release.[10] [9]

Artwork and title

The album's artwork and title are inspired by the Twisted Metal series of video games for the original PlayStation console.[11]

Critical reception

Death Race for Love was met with a generally lukewarm reception. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 61, based on 11 reviews. Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 5.4 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus.

Reviewers generally praised the album's sound and blend of genres. Thomas Hobbs of NME gave a positive 4 star (out of 5) review, stating "Juice Wrld is far less indulgent than XXX[Tentacion], not getting lost in the idea that he's a messianic creative. This will be the moment that solidifies his status as one of rap's most exciting new stars". Scott Glaysher of HipHopDX gave the album a 3.9 out of 5, and argued that; "Genre-blending albums (no matter how commonplace they might be these days) are not easy to pull off and for that, Juice Wrld should be given credit. From the seemingly sincere lyrics to the equally candid delivery, Juice truly goes with his gut in whichever way (rap, sing, hum, sob)".

Most reviewers, however, took issues with the album's length and what was seen as poor writing, even in positive reviews. Pitchforks Alphonse Pierre wrote, "Fifty percent of the lyrics are bad ("Back on my bullshit, devil emoji") and the other 50 percent are also bad, but then they get stuck in your head and ultimately turn good ("Tell me your darkest secret shit you wouldn't even tell Jesus"). ... Death Race For Love feels like the real Juice Wrld, wearing his influences and heart on his sleeve, putting his ups and downs into the music in real time", and gave the album a 6.8 out of 10. Danny Schwartz of Rolling Stone said in his 3 and half star (out of 5) review that, "Death Race succeeded in its most fundamental mission, which was to prove that "Lucid Dreams" was not a fluke. Songs like "Fast", "Ring, Ring", "Hear Me Calling" strike a dynamic balance of raw charisma and profound anxiety... While his melodrama tends to grow old over the course of a 22-track, 72-minute album, it is captivating in small doses". The Guardians Kate Hutchinson stated: "It's slim on features (only Young Thug, Clever and Brent Faiyaz) but big on misanthropic head-nodders that put Juice's Fall Out Boy-style whine or raspy flow to the fore: he is more versatile than his peers and also more gifted... But ultimately, the suicide references of songs such as Empty and casual misogyny in the tauntingly violent Syphilis leave an uncomfortable taste.", and gave the album 3 stars out of 5. Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews said at the end of his 6.5 out of 10 review that while he enjoyed the "catchy tunes" at times, that it was "hard to call them rap songs and even harder to ignore the subtext that drugs are both the cause of and solution to his problems. Irresponsible abuse of powerful narcotics or prescription medications solves nothing. It's easy to pretend Juice WRLD is just a fiction [sic] character Jarad Higgins portrays for the sake of music, but too many of his peers have died over the years for me to safely assume it's all just a gimmick."

PopMatters critic Mike Schiller said, "The ratio of bangers to duds...is not great, and Death Race for Love feels an awful lot like an unabridged teenage diary; while the occasional clever turn of phrase and moment of profundity is sure to bubble up, most of it is simple self-indulgence, an onslaught of pure emotion whose sincerity is never in question, but all of which starts to blur together after a mere few pages or songs". Fred Thomas was also critical of the album in the review for AllMusic, stating "There's no shortage of highlights, but the lack of editing or focus means every song goes on a little too long and leads to another one that struggles to connect stylistically or emotionally".

Year-end lists

Publication! scope="col" class="unsortable"
ListRank
NMEThe 50 Best Albums of 2019
Rolling Stone50 Best Albums of 2019
UproxxThe Best Albums of 2019

Industry awards

Year! scope="col"
AwardCategoryResult
2020Billboard Music AwardsTop Rap Album[12]
iHeart Radio Music AwardsHip-Hop Album of the Year[13]

Commercial performance

Death Race for Love debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 165,000 album-equivalent units (including 43,000 copies in pure album sales) in its first week.[14] This became Juice Wrld's first US number-one album.[14] In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, moving an additional 74,000 units.[15] In its third week, the album dropped to number three on the chart, earning another 54,000 units.[16] In its fourth week, the album dropped to number five on the chart, earning 44,000 more units.[17] As of May 2019, the album has earned 515,000 album-equivalent units in the US.[18] On October 29, 2021, the album was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over two million units in the United States.

Personnel

Credits adapted from iTunes and Tidal.[19] [20]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart performance for Death Race for Love
Chart (2019)Peak
position
Latvian Albums (LAIPA)[21] 3
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[22] 3

Year-end charts

Chart (2019)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 73
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[24] 109
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25] 31
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 48
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[27] 55
Icelandic Albums (Plötutíóindi)[28] 54
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[29] 46
US Billboard 200[30] 22
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[31] 13
Chart (2020)! scope="col"
Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 78
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 70
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[34] 40
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[35] 50
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[36] 36
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[37] 46
UK Albums (OCC)[38] 91
US Billboard 200[39] 34
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[40] 17
Chart (2021)! scope="col"
Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[41] 106
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[42] 41
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[43] 79
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[44] 67
US Billboard 200[45] 42
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[46] 20
Chart (2022)! scope="col"
Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[47] 193
US Billboard 200[48] 60
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[49] 25
Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Position
US Billboard 200[50] 101
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[51] 69

Decade-end charts

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Juice WRLD Doesn't Want to Be Emo Anymore. Vulture. March 15, 2019. March 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190316214026/https://www.vulture.com/2019/03/juice-wrld-profile.html. March 16, 2019. live.
  2. Lil Nas X's 'Old Town Road' Was a Country Hit. Then Country Changed Its Mind. Rolling Stone. Leight. Elias. March 26, 2019. March 27, 2019. Much of Juice WRLD's Death Race for Love is textbook rock and roll, awash in guitars. It will probably be the most commercially successful rock album of 2019.. https://web.archive.org/web/20190613075635/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/lil-nas-x-old-town-road-810844/. June 13, 2019. live.
  3. Web site: Juice WRLD Announces New Album A Deathrace for Love. Pitchfork. Bloom. Madison. February 7, 2019. February 8, 2019.
  4. Web site: Juice WRLD Announces Extensive North American Tour. Grammys. Yglesias. Ana. February 21, 2019. June 2, 2019.
  5. Juice WRLD's Track List For 'Death Race For Love': See The Features. Billboard. Saponara. Michael. March 5, 2019. March 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190308022611/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8501174/juice-wrld-track-list-death-race-for-love. March 8, 2019. live.
  6. Web site: Juice WRLD Performs On 'Jimmy Fallon': Watch. Vibe. da Costa. Beatriz. April 9, 2019. June 1, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190602015823/https://www.vibe.com/2019/04/juice-wrld-tonight-show-jimmy-fallon-performance. June 2, 2019. live.
  7. Juice WRLD's Dad Gives Him Pretty Solid Advice on 'Robbery'. Rolling Stone. Holmes. Charles. February 14, 2019. February 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190215160102/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/juice-wrld-robbery-794500/. February 15, 2019. live.
  8. Juice WRLD Releases New Single 'Robbery,' Talks 'Deathrace for Love' Album With Beats 1: Listen. Billboard. Saponara. Michael. February 13, 2019. March 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190401080954/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/hip-hop/8498289/juice-wrld-new-single-robbery-next-album-beats-1. April 1, 2019. live.
  9. Juice WRLD Chart History: Hot 100. Billboard. March 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200326205110/https://www.billboard.com/music/juice-wrld/chart-history. March 26, 2020. live.
  10. Web site: Juice Wrld Drops His New Song "Hear Me Calling". XXL. Centeno. Tony M.. March 1, 2019. March 3, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200406163445/https://www.xxlmag.com/rap-music/new-music/2019/03/juice-wrld-hear-me-calling-new-song/. April 6, 2020. live.
  11. Web site: Juice WRLD's 'Hear Me Calling' Video Is A Playstation–Themed Dream. Uproxx. Williams. Aaron. March 11, 2019. March 16, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190327090154/https://uproxx.com/hiphop/juice-wrld-hear-me-calling-video/. March 27, 2019. live.
  12. 2020 Billboard Music Awards Winners: Complete List. Billboard. Atkinson. Katie. October 14, 2020. October 15, 2020.
  13. Web site: 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards Winners: See The Full List. iHeartRadio. Fields. Taylor. September 8, 2020. September 30, 2020.
  14. Juice WRLD Scores First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 With 'Death Race for Love'. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. March 17, 2019. March 18, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200127010735/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8502815/juice-wrld-billboard-200-no-1-album-death-race-for-love. January 27, 2020. live.
  15. Juice WRLD's 'Death Race for Love' Rules for Second Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. March 24, 2019. April 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200320122450/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8503815/juice-wrld-death-race-for-love-rules-for-second-week-at-no-1-billboard-200-albums-chart. March 20, 2020. live.
  16. NAV Nets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Bad Habits'. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. March 31, 2019. May 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190831090059/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8504886/nav-nets-first-no-1-album-on-billboard-200-chart-with-bad-habits. August 31, 2019. live.
  17. Billie Eilish's 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' Debuts at No. 1. Billboard. Caulfield. Keith. April 7, 2019. May 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200307172243/https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8505964/billie-eilishs-when-we-all-fall-asleep-where-do-we-go-debuts-at. March 7, 2020. live.
  18. Web site: TOP 50 ALBUMS YTD. Hits Daily Double. May 9, 2019. May 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190512181154/http://hitsdailydouble.com/news%26id%3D316358%26title%3DTOP-50-ALBUMS-YTD. May 12, 2019. live.
  19. Web site: Death Race for Love by Juice WRLD on Apple Music. iTunes Store. March 1, 2019.
  20. Web site: Credits / Death Race For Love / Juice WRLD. Tidal. July 10, 2020.
  21. Web site: Mūzikas Patēriņa Tops/ 11. nedēļa. lv. LAIPA. November 28, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191010115117/https://www.parmuziku.lv/muzikas-zinas/latvija/muzikas-paterina-tops-11-nedela-7842. October 10, 2019.
  22. Web site: Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100). lt. AGATA. March 15, 2019. December 3, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191009192246/https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/savaites-klausomiausi-w09-2-2/. October 9, 2019. live.
  23. Web site: ARIA End of Year Albums Chart 2019. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 10, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200315024115/https://www.ariacharts.com.au/annual-charts/2019/albums-chart. March 15, 2020. live.
  24. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2019. Ultratop. December 20, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200222160725/https://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=2019&cat=a. February 22, 2020. live.
  25. Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. December 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200305133317/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/top-canadian-albums. March 5, 2020. live.
  26. Web site: Album Top-100 2019. Hitlisten. da. January 15, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200114175340/http://hitlisten.nu/top2019.asp. January 14, 2020. live.
  27. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2019. dutchcharts.nl. January 5, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200111043645/https://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=2019&cat=a. January 11, 2020. live.
  28. Web site: Tónlistinn – Plötur – 2019. Plötutíóindi. is. April 1, 2022.
  29. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2019. Recorded Music NZ. December 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200314102022/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=4790. March 14, 2020. live.
  30. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. December 6, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200223153312/https://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/2019/top-billboard-200-albums. February 23, 2020. live.
  31. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2019. Billboard. June 18, 2020.
  32. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2020. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 15, 2021.
  33. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2020. Ultratop. December 18, 2020.
  34. Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 4, 2020.
  35. Web site: Album Top-100 2020. Hitlisten. January 13, 2021.
  36. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2020. MegaCharts. nl. January 6, 2021.
  37. Web site: Top Selling Albums of 2020. Recorded Music NZ. December 7, 2020.
  38. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2020. Official Charts Company. January 5, 2021.
  39. Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 4, 2020.
  40. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2020. Billboard. December 4, 2020.
  41. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2021. Ultratop. January 5, 2022.
  42. Top Canadian Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  43. Web site: Album Top-100 2021. Hitlisten. January 6, 2022.
  44. Web site: Jaaroverzichten – Album 2021. dutchcharts.nl. nl. January 4, 2022.
  45. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  46. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2021. Billboard. December 3, 2021.
  47. Web site: Jaaroverzichten 2022. Ultratop. nl. January 14, 2023.
  48. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2022. Billboard. December 2, 2022.
  49. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2022. Billboard. December 2, 2022.
  50. Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2023. Billboard. November 23, 2023.
  51. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2023. Billboard. November 23, 2023.
  52. Decade-End Charts: Billboard 200. Billboard. November 15, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20200320084752/https://www.billboard.com/charts/decade-end/billboard-200. March 20, 2020. live.