Juice WRLD’s name has been removed from the cover of the new Kid Laroi collab, but the song itself still features him. The rapper was killed in December of 2019 after an accidental overdose at Chicago’s Midway airport.
A rap star who rose to fame in his SoundCloud days, he won fans around the world before his untimely passing. His legacy lives on in 2020’s Legends Never Die and this month’s Fighting Demons, which both reached the top of the Billboard charts.
Video Game Tribute
Juice WRLD was one of the most popular rappers in the eSports community, and it’s no wonder that many eSports professionals have paid tribute to him in the wake of his passing. He was known for promoting the use of his music by streamers, and he even helped remove copyright claims against them.
He also shared his love for gaming with his fans, and he had a particular interest in Tony Hawk games. His cover art for his album Death Race For Love pays homage to the art from Twisted Metal 4, on the original PlayStation.
He also got the chance to collaborate with other artists, including Australia’s Kid Laroi. The young rapper was introduced to the world of rap through his mentorship with Juice WRLD, and he later made a name for himself as a rising star. It was all cut short when he died of an overdose of oxycodone and codeine in late 2019. But it was clear that he left behind a big impact on his fellow musicians.
XXXTentacion’s Appearance
In one of the most bizarre and wild stories in music history, XXXTentacion uploaded a picture of a kid with a blunt hanging out of his nose on SoundCloud five years ago. The photo would later go viral, and become a catalyst for a series of events that changed the lives of everyone involved.
Those events would ultimately lead to XXXTentacion’s death. And yet, he made a point to include a tribute to his mentor and friend Juice WRLD in his acclaimed posthumous album Legends Never Die.
He also featured a Juice WRLD-inspired track on his own album, F*CK LOVE, which has since become a top-20 hit in the US thanks to massive streaming numbers. And now, he’s reached another milestone: triple j’s Hottest 100, where his song ‘Stay’ has topped the charts and earned him a place in the record books for being the highest-ranked Indigenous artist ever.
It’s a story that’s as illuminating as it is inspiring, and the kid isn’t even done with his amazing rap arc.
Lil Bibby’s Response
As the 17-year-old Australian rap sensation LAROI continues to make an impact globally, it’s not surprising that his name has been thrown into the ring with other rappers in the hip-hop world. In fact, it has led to a few spats in social media comment sections recently, largely due to a recent report that LAROI’s total Spotify monthly listeners are significantly outpacing that of his peers.
The Kid LAROI doesn’t see himself as a typical “rap artist,” so he’s not bound to a single genre for his entire career. While he says that he does have a strong appreciation for rap music, he’s also been influenced by other styles such as R&B and electronic music.
During his early days, LAROI’s family lived all over Australia, from inner-city suburbs to rural areas, so he was exposed to a wide variety of music. He was also able to hear the music of his favorite artists on a regular basis thanks to his mother keeping a rotation of her favorites in their house.
The Final Words
One year after the death of Juice WRLD, the late rapper’s name has been removed from a collab track with fellow Aussie artist The Kid Laroi. However, the artist has no idea why his friend’s name has been taken off the cover artwork.
The track, “GO,” was recorded when the pair met up in Greece last year and serves as a tribute to the late rapper. On the song, Laroi reflects on what he learned from Juice WRLD, calling him a “real life legend.”
The fast-rising Aussie rapper has been making music since grade nine and is already a winner in youth radio station Triple J’s Unearthed High competition. His debut EP came out in March and in November he made his way back to Australia to tour with labelmate Juice WRLD.