Search results for Juice WRLD

It looks like New Music Friday might not be finished. We know that Rich The Kid is always working on new vibes and, according to a recent post-and-delete on his social media, he may be planning to release a free mixtape before the day ends.

Taking to Instagram Stories, the Atlanta–New York rapper teased a new project called The Lost Tape, which may be coming out today.

“Should I drop a free mixtape tonight???” asked Rich. “Featuring Future, Juice WRLD, Meek Mill, Gucci [Mane], and Big Sean?? The Lost Tape.”

The post has been taken down, so his plans for an immediate release are up in the air. Being acquainted with the way Rich The Kid generally promotes his projects, this is probably just building hype for the eventual drop in a couple of weeks/months. Hopefully, he proves me wrong though and actually comes through before midnight.

RTK was recently in the news for his short-lived feud with Tekashi 6ix9ine. The rappers went back and forth, with 6ix9ine even promising to shave his head if his rival continued losing followers. That didn’t play out and, nowadays, Tekashi has even larger targets.

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Do you hope The Lost Tape gets released tonight?

Juice WRLD passed away at the young age of 21 due to a drug overdose. The recording artist was one of the most popular musicians in the world at the time, breaking the hearts of so many of his fans. His mother has taken control of his estate, establishing the Live Free 999 fund and sharing plenty of memories to social media.

This week, she went back to when Juice WRLD earned his first few dollars from performing, posing with a $100 bill and looking toward the future.

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

“This was the first money Jarad made for performing,” wrote Carmella Wallace, the rapper’s mother, on Instagram. “I told him we needed to capture the moment. The pic was taken March 2017 and the rest is history!”

At the end of his career, Juice WRLD was likely earning thousands upon thousands of dollars for his performances. He started at the bottom though, clawing away until he reached rap’s pinnacle. Unfortunately, his success didn’t last as long as he had hoped as his issues with substance abuse signaled the end of his journey.

Juice WRLD’s first posthumous album, The Outsiders, has been detailed by his girlfriend Ally Lotti. Look out for further announcements about the new album soon.

Long Live Juice WRLD.

Given that Future and Juice WRLD previously linked up for a collaboration album called WRLD On Drugs, it’s clear that the pair possessed a strong sense of creative camaraderie. Unfortunately, Juice’s untimely death left Future mourning his young collaborator, a loss he still carries to this day. Speaking with Zane Lowe of Beats 1, Future took a moment to dete from talking High Off Life to pay respects to Juice WRLD, opening up about the young rapper’s legacy as he sees it.

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“It was like working with a different breed,” he explains, reflecting on their time recording together. “It’s something different. Juice one of them, like I say, you know, he had the answers for it. They had an answer for this. It was special. I know it was a special moment. I’m like, “Wow, this is a special fucking moment,” without a doubt. That was one of them things, man, I’m still writing on, I’m still working out. Let’s try to perfect it. And the way I see it perfecting of like, how can I put into words of what was happening with… Why it happened, how it happened?”

“Anyone that got a chance to work with Juice, got a chance to meet a man, especially, it’s a blessing,” he continues. “Just working with him. He’s a great kid, a special kid. He just want to know more. Sitting around say, just trying to figure out everything and having an answer to everything, man.”

Be sure to check out the full interview below. Aside from discussions on Juice WRLD, Future also opens up about the meaning behind his latest album, as well as a variety of other topics. In the meantime, sound off below — have you been keeping High Off Life in steady rotation?

Polo G‘s much-anticipated follow up to his debut, Die A Legend, arrives today. The GOAT, as it’s titled, indicates the length of Polo’s ambitions– but equally, it represents his astrological sign, a Capricorn. This, in itself, is seemingly an omen of his destined-to-be greatness, as the rapper tells us in our new interview that he’s among good company– Lebron James, Denzel Washington, Martin Luther King, Tiger Woods, are all fellow Capricorns.

It’s impossible to be great at your craft without constant practice and study, and this is something Polo G seems keenly aware of, and is continuously striving towards, which is refreshing to hear in such a young artist. He’s definitely here to play the long game, and to that effect, he’s actively studying the OGs that came before him– this attitude of course stands in stark contrast to a few other “new gen” rappers that might come to mind. Perhaps Polo’s dedication to the game and desire for greatness is also tied up in his upbringing. As a youth in the Northside of Chicago, he had no choice but to mature quickly and now, he sees no other option but to make this rap thing a full-fledged, long-lasting career, in order to fully leave his street life in the Chi behind. He’s helping himself do that too, with a move to Los Angeles encouraging the artist to not only focus on his career, but to forge a better life for his family, some of whom moved out to L.A. with him. Of course, having a young son acts as motivation as well.

Polo G’s new album is clear evidence of his growth. The rapper shows strides not only in his song-writing abilities, but in his concepts as well, branching out to new territory as he explores a love song or two (“Martin & Gina,” “Beautiful Pain”), and even dabbles in social topics like police brutality on the piano ballad “Wishing For a Hero” featuring BJ The Chicago Kid. 

When we spoke to Polo G the phone at the beginning of the week, five days prior to his album release, this idea of growth was one that he pushed forth, whether it be using the quarantine downtime to improve on his songwriting ability or listening to Tupac and Nas as a way to study their lyricism. 

Read our full interview with the wise-beyond-his-years rapper below, and make sure to go stream The GOAT.

Edited for clarity 

Image HNHH

HotNewHipHop: This is Rose with HNHH how are you?

Polo G: I’m good.

Good? You sound tired. 

Yeah, I’m exhausted

Yeah, getting ready to drop this new album in quarantine. How’s it going? You’re in LA right now?

Yeah, I’m in LA currently.

How’s life on lockdown out in LA?

It’s been cool. It’s bearable cause the weather’s good.

Yeah for real. That’s one thing. Where I am the weather is gross and depressing. So the new album is titled The GOAT. Why did you want to follow up Die a Legend with that? Both are pretty big titles, why did you want to call the second one The GOAT? 

It was really like, I knew it would get a bit of controversy, a lot of different opinions, but it was really a play on my zodiac sign. Me being a Capricorn and the goat representing the Capricorn, and I just know all around that Capricorns are one of the greatest at whatever they were doing. Whether it was Lebron James, Denzel Washington, Martin Luther King, Tiger Woods. People who are great at what they did, so I feel like it needs to be great.

Cool, I didn’t know the double meaning. So, thinking about being the best, I wanted to know since you dropped Die A Legend, what’s a positive way that you’ve changed or grown since you dropped that album. How are you continuing to level up and get better? Is there one thing that you’ve done like, “Since I dropped Die a Legend I stopped doing this drug.” Something positive in your life if there’s anything you can speak on like that.

I feel like I got better at my work ethic. I’ve spent a lot more time in the studio this time around, so I just got better with my song writing ability and my ability to dish out way more music or create way more music, and really finding my best creative spaces. 

That’s dope. I just got the album like an hour ago so I haven’t had that much time to listen it, but I definitely heard– you’re trying new things. The “Martin and Gina” track I found was so dope but it’s a little bit different for you just in the fact that it’s a love song and a lot of Die a Legend was just you reflecting on where you grew up and your neighborhood and that type of thing. This is actually a relationship song. So, what inspired that record? Was it a new relationship or it’s just you’re now finally able to write about new things, like your song writing has evolved?

Yeah, just me being able to write about more things, and evolving on my sound and the topic that I want to expound on cause I know you can only talk about a certain subject so much until people are like, we get it. You feel me? So I just wanted to switch up my flow so I got more to offer as an artist. 

Yeah, it’s dope. I thought that one and “Lose My Mind” seemed kind of like a relationship love song which is new territory for you. What’s your favorite type of song to write?

I feel like it’s easier for me to make heartfelt music because it’s just speaking on what I’ve been through or what I’m going through currently. It’s always easier to make those type of songs cause they flow easier through me, and that’s something I started out with. So, my roots sound or root flow as an artist will always be easy.

Yeah, okay. Your first album you had essentially no features. Lil Tjay was basically the only feature. On this album you have a few more and obviously the Juice Wrld one is gonna be pretty big. When did you get that verse from him, like how long ago was that? How did that song come together?

Me and Juice Wrld we just always used to link up in Cali. He used to stay 15 minutes from me, so we just had that type of relationship where we always link up with each other, if he wanted me to slide on him, we could just be chilling, we didn’t even make music like that. But there was a time that I had recorded a song with Hit-Boy and I left an open [verse] on it and he said that he’ll get Juice on it and Juice sent me the verse back within a week or two and I called him back like, ‘man, I appreciate you for that,’ cause he’s a pretty big artist. Well, to me, one of the biggest artists in the world at the time, so. He just look out for me cause we had that type of relationship.

Yeah. And “Relentless” seems almost– the hook is almost like an ode to artists like Juice Wrld that are gone to soon. Is that something you were thinking about when you wrote that?

Um, not necessarily. It was actually the record that I got called “I Know”, I basically tailored the hook around the situation with him and our friendship. I was basically having him in my head when I was writing the hook to that song. 

To “I Know”?

Yeah. 

Oh, okay. So, the other bigger feature that you have is Lil Baby and you guys also just collaborated on Durk’s song. Have you guys spent time in the studio in real like before the pandemic or was that all done online, email?

Me and Lil Baby got like our third song together. He was in the “Pop Out” remix, he hopped onto “Be Something,” and the song with Durk, but we never linked in the studio before, which is kinda– but I guess that’s just how go business goes in this day and age. I don’t recall ever really meet him in person.

Oh, shit. What about Lil Tjay, you guys for sure have been in the studio together?

Yeah, we worked on “Pop Out” in the studio together. All I thought was we were sharing a session just doing our thing. 

In New York?

Yeah. When I walked into his session or he walked into mine, we just worked from there.

That’s so crazy. Do you guys have any unreleased songs together? Like how many collaborations do you have total would you estimate?

I think about, in total about three or four. Two of them being out. We didn’t really lock in to work on that much music but it’s definitely a though, definitely something to get going.

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

Would you ever do a joint mixtape with him or is there anyone else like is that something that you want to do? The joint project kind of trend?

Yeah I’m definitely open to doing one with him. Some of the other bigger artists that compliment my sound…I can’t really pinpoint one as of right now, but I know that I would be open to doing that with any artist that I enjoy their music too. 

That would be dope. Who are some older artists that you do enjoy their music, that you’re listening to right now? Maybe not from your generation but from the older generation?

I could say probably like Tupac. That’s the only person from the older generation that I could say– that’s honestly the only [one]. Besides him I’ve been listening to Nas. Just trying to really learn my history on hip hop, and just really feel them out as being real lyricists cause I know I pride myself on being a lyricist.

That’s so dope and I noticed that you must study those things, because I found that some of your word choices– you opt for the less-used word, in rapping but also in conversation. You use words that we don’t always use like, when you say ’embrace’ instead of ‘hug’ and ‘expound’– you just said ‘expound’ in this conversation– so it’s cool to see that initiative and that growth.

Yeah, I definitely pride myself on doing that too cause I just try to make myself stand out as an artist.

I mean, that’s how you’re going to get better. Who are some of your favorite producers to work with?

My favorite producer…I actually enjoy working with Taj Money, I enjoy working with 10 Forty and his crew. I like really upcoming producers, more than mainstream producers, because I feel like it’s more of a vibe. I feel like mainstream producers pull a sound out of you that you probably never knew you had, and they give you more of a mainstream sound, because they know what the rest of the world really wants to hear, but I feel like working with the producers who really grinding, like you can feel a hunger and how they’re coming towards the song and I’m trying to produce that same type of hunger.

Yeah, that’s true. In terms of what draws you to a beat I feel like a lot of your stuff is dark and there’s a lot of piano keys in your beats. Are there any specific elements that you look for?

I listen for pianos, I listen for guitar. Like it just gotta have a nice little bounce to the beat, like the 808. That’s gonna sell me every time. 

I definitely hear that. It sounds like from various interviews that I’ve heard with you, that your family is super involved in you career. Does every one of your family members have a different role in terms of your career? Like your mom is your manager, is that still true?

Yeah my OG is my manager. She’s been my manager really since the day that I signed, so. We’ve been locked in.

How was your sister and your dad involved or your other siblings? Do they also have a role?

Yeah to an extent. My sister’s like my road manager, and my pops, he does equipment for me when I’m on tour, like setting up. Though I put everybody to play. I know coming around towards the next time, my little brother’s gonna be doing the hype man work for me, so I really incorporate my family, really try to put them on.

That’s so dope. Do they all live in LA with you, like did everyone move out there?

At one point in time everybody lived out there but then after getting a feel for it, other people in my family, they moved back to Illinois.

Oh, okay. What didn’t they like about it? Do you like living in LA or, what do you think of it?

I feel like LA is one of the best places to live in the world. It’s definitely my second home. I love Chicago too, it’s my hometown. I just know that I left Chicago to stay away from getting in trouble.

Right. In terms of local artists and figures in Chicago who are the most important people locally. Like maybe it’s Lil Durk or G Herbo, people like that. Who do you look up to in Chicago? 

I don’t look up to anybody in Chicago. I respect all of the artists that’s doing their thing, but I’m really focused on myself and trying to out-do my last achievements, and really cement my name as one of the great artists, so. I don’t necessarily look up to anybody. 

Okay. If it’s not Chicago is there anyone you look up to in general or you’re really just like, ‘I don’t do that’?

I mean it’s certain people that I respect the way that they move like, I look at Meek Mill and people like Drake, like this is the way you’re supposed to be when you’re thirty years old, and you still doing your thing in rap, like this is how it’s supposed to look. I definitely pay attention to those types of thing.

That’s smart. One last thing I wanted to talk about is when you look on YouTube, a lot of the comments on your videos and your interviews, it’s all so inspirational and motivational– you’ve motivated a lot of your fans, basically. So I just wanted to know who inspires and motivates you in a similar way that you’re motivating all these young people?

I would say somebody like Tupac inspires [me], you feel me. In just what it is I’m doing and just standing firm in what I believe in, somebody like Nipsey Hussle, too.

Okay, that’s dope. Do you want to leave the fans with words of motivation during this insane time that we’re all going through? 

Just really try to keep your head up and, probably try to stay away from social media cause I know that can bring you down like you having anxiety issues like that definitely doesn’t help your situation. Take a walk, take a breather, you feel me? Just don’t let this whole thing get to your head.

Yeah, for sure. That’s great. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us and we’re looking forward to when the album drops.

I appreciate you thanks for having me.

Ski Mask the Slump God has been through a lot in the last two years. He's had to mourn so many of his loved ones. First, his best friend XXXTentacion passed away as a result of gun violence, being shot in broad daylight outside of a Florida motorsports shop and losing his life. Then, a producer from the Members Only collective, Khaed, lost his life. Finally, Ski had to say goodbye to another one of his close friends, Juice WRLD, who passed away from an accidental drug overdose. 

Ski Mask has lost a lot of people and he has been fighting a silent battle for years. Today, he finally let his fans in on how he's feeling, saying that he sometimes wishes it were him instead of his friends.

"Should Of Been Me Instead Of Jah Or Juice," tweeted the 24-year-old rapper. 

Juice WRLD's girlfriend Ally Lotti has been working hard to ensure that the release of the late rapper's first posthumous album goes exactly as he would have wanted. During a recent live-stream, she was speaking about the project, bursting into tears and casually confirming its title.

Ally Lotti has been a primary source for news regarding the posthumous release of Juice WRLD's new album. Fans of the late Chicago rapper have flocked to her page for any hints about when it could arrive and this weekend, she revealed its title, which had been rumored for the last few months.

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images -- Juice Wrld brings Ally Lotti onstage during Made In America

"I need exactly what Jarad wanted to come out right now," said Lotti on Instagram Live, speaking about her late partner. "Remember, we were talking about The Outsiders, all that stuff. That actual album... no one is ready for it. I'm not ready for it. And I promise you, you are not ready for it."

The Outsiders has been floating around as a possible title for the new posthumous album by Juice WRLD, but this is the first time it has been confirmed by somebody close to him. 

The album is also rumored to include fifteen songs, including features from a number of artists that were close to the rapper.

There is no current release date for The Outsiders.

Juice Wrld may be gone, but he will surely not be forgotten any time soon. The late Chicago-bred rapper has been immortalized not only in his music, but by way of his many friends and family, who keep him in their thoughts constantly. Just yesterday, Juice’s girlfriend, Ally Lotti, shared a tribute in respect to the rapper. It seems this is the case every other week, with artists constantly reflecting on the good soul that was Juice and his contributions to the rap game.

Despite his career being cut short all too soon, the rapper managed to make amazing strides within the industry, and he’s clearly left a lot of music that fans will receive posthumously, with the recent single “Righteous” starting things off.

Today, it appears G Herbo was in the mood for reflection, and took the time to pay his respects to the rapper by way of sharing a photo of the two together. Both are Chicago natives, with a connection by way of Lil Bibby who initially signed Juice. Of course, they’ve also collaborated on wax more than once too, with “PTSD,” and “Honestly.”

In the photo, G Herbo tilts his head back, looking Juice’s way, while Juice looks directly at the camera. Herbo wrote, “YOU KNOW YOU AIN’T HAVE TO DIP ON US LIKE THAT LIL BRO SHIT REALLY WEAF AF WITHOUT YOU ON CAP.”

His post had Juice’s legion of fans coming out to drop an emoji in memory of Juice.

R.I.P.

The hip hop community was stunned by the news that Juice WRLD had passed away, and his loved ones are still piecing together their lives following such a tragedy. The 21-year-old rising star died after suffering a seizure reportedly brought on by oxycodone and codeine, causing a ripple effect of his rap peers pledging to quit using drugs. Juice WRLD's girlfriend Ally Lotti has continued to grieve the loss of her partner, and she took to Instagram Live to share tears, and memories, of the late rapper.

"I know J's with me," she said in the video as she began to tear up. "I'm so thankful. I know he's always with me, but when he shows me signs it really just gives me the motivation. I'm so blessed and thankful for that right now. So blessed." Later, she talked about being "so proud" of Juice WRLD while thanking the rapper's fans for supporting his recently posthumous release, "Righteous."

"I just want to make you guys so proud," Ally Lotti said while crying. "I don't know if you guys know, but I have nothing to do with—when I first got with Jarad, I didn't want anyone to think I was with him for his money. I had my own money. I have my own money. I did not need Jarad for that. I wanted Jarad for Jarad." She added that she had Juice WRLD's lawyers draw up some sort of document to prove that she didn't want anything from the late rapper while they were together. 

"I just want our memories, I want our story," Ally stated through tears. "I just want our music and the music that he made for me. That he wants you guys to hear. And that's what I'm putting myself into. Not for anything else. I get nothing out of this, just so you guys know, and I don't want anything out of this... Literally that's it." Watch videos of Ally Lotti revisiting memories of Juice WRLD below.

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#wrldedits_ #juicewrld #juicewrldedits #allylotti #juiceedits #missingyou

A post shared by Juice Wrld Edit Page (@wrldedits_) on Apr 27, 2020 at 3:04pm PDT

There's something to be said about the fact that Lil Pump's antics gain more traction than his music these days. Even though he's continued to release tracks, he's been expanding into other genres such as reggaeton and more recently, punk. Pump is apparently readying a new punk rock project and recently shared a snippet but many fans of Juice WRLD believed his lyrics disrespected the late rapper's legacy.

Juice WRLD, Kid Cudi, and Travis Scott are only a few of the artists who dropped some heat this week that we’ve highlighted on our specially-curated “Fire Emoji” playlist. HNHH makes sure to keep you posted on the hottest hip hop offerings, and the latest additions to our “Fire Emoji” playlist are too good to miss. 

A major drop this week came from the late Juice WRLD’s estate, who released his first posthumous single since his tragic death last December. “Righteous” is included on our “Fire Emoji” playlist, alongside the very first offering from THE SCOTTS, a new hip hop duo comprised of Travis Scott and Kid Cudi (or, Scott Mescudi, hence the group name). Travis premiered THE SCOTTS self-titled single during his virtual, in-game Fortnite concert on Thursday night, much to the excitement of fans. 

Some great albums dropped this past week, as well, from artists like Wiz Khalifa, NBA YoungBoy, Trouble, and more. Selected cuts off each of their new projects are featured on “Fire Emoji,” including two from YB and Trouble with features from DaBaby, Quavo, and Jeezy, as well as Wiz Khalifa’s “Clouds In The Air” with K Camp off The Saga of Wiz Khalifa. Check out our full roundup including joints from Lil Baby, Ab-Soul, and more, and make sure to follow our other specially-curated playlists.

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Follow our freshly-updated Wake & Bake playlist here.

Follow our G.O.O.D. Music playlist (for a GOOD ASS FRIDAY) here.

Juice WRLD’s first piece of posthumous music since his tragic death last December just dropped today, and the official music video for “Righteous” includes a clip of J. Cole alongside the late artist in the studio. It was announced by Juice’s mother on Thursday that her son’s first posthumous single would be released on all streaming services at midnight, and “Righteous” did not disappoint. Along with the release of the single came a Steve Cannon-directed music video, which includes tons of behind-the-scenes footage of Juice on tour and in the studio, his bustling schedule reflecting his rapidly-growing career prior to his untimely death at the age of 21.

Among the various shots of Juice in the studio was a clip that showed J. Cole accompanying him. Fans of both artists were thrilled to see that the two of them had been working together, although it’s unclear what exactly they were working on. It’s possible that they were cooking up a collab together, or that J. Cole was simply serving as a producer on some of Juice WRLD’s work. At this point, it is not yet known whether we’ll ever even get to hear the magic they were making, but fingers crossed that this prospective crossover will appear on Juice WRLD’s upcoming posthumous album. Earlier this month, Grade A Productions co-founder Lil Bibby announced that Juice’s new project was “coming soon,” so there’s hope that J.Cole will be featured on at least one of the tracks.

Are you excited to hear what Juice WRLD and J. Cole may have been cooking up in these studio shots?

The first posthumous single release by Chicago rapper Juice WRLD has been announced as “Righteous” will be added to all streaming services tonight.

The announcement was made by Juice WRLD’s mother Carmella Wallace, his family, and the team at Grade A Productions. 

“Juice was a prolific artist who dedicated his life to making music. Choosing how to share his upcoming music with the world has been no easy feat. Honoring the love Juice felt for his fans while shining a light on his talents and his spirit are the important parts of this process for us,” writes Wallace. 

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

“Tonight we will be releasing a song called ‘Righteous’ which Juice made from his home studio in Los Angeles. We hope you enjoy this new music and continue to keep Juice’s spirit alive. Stay safe everyone.”

The announcement comes in the same week that Carmella Wallace established the Live Free 999 Fund, which seeks to assist programs to help youth with addiction, anxiety, and depression.

Fans of the late 21-year-old artist will recognize this as one of the songs that have leaked online in recent months. While it will sound familiar, the world will finally be able to hear it on a wider scale.

Are you excited to hit play at midnight?

Juice WRLD made such a lasting impact on hip-hop’s youth, speaking candidly about difficult topics in his music and in interviews. The rapper was very open about his struggles with substance abuse, anxiety, depression, heartbreak, and more, offering a window for young rap fans to look through and know that they were not alone. Showing everybody that there is a rainbow at the end of the rainstorm, Juice WRLD tragically lost his life just days after turning 21-years-old. 

The late Chicago native’s family has been working hard to establish a foundation in his honor and, this week, that all came together. Juice WRLD’s mother Carmella Wallace has announced the launch of the Live Free 999 Fund, which has been created in Juice WRLD’s name.

“Young people around the world were truly touched by Jarad’s music because he spoke to issues and situations in his music that resonated with them so deeply,” said Carmella in a statement about the new fund, which will receive additional help from Grade A Productions and Interscope Records. “I was aware of his struggles with addiction, anxiety, and depression; we had many conversations about his challenges with these issues. I know he truly wanted to be free from the demons that tormented him. I made the decision upon his death that I was going to share his struggles with the world with the objective of helping others.”

Mike Coppola/Getty Images

The release outlines the goals of the fund as such. Live Free 999 will seek to provide support to programs that address addiction, anxiety, and depression in compassionate ways. It will also work towards the normalization of conversations about these topics, particularly in underserved communities. The fund will additionally assist programs to help individuals process their mental health challenges through creative pursuits. 

“It is my hope that Live Free 999 will help people just as Jarad’s music has and will continue to touch lives for years to come,” said Carmella.

Rest in peace, Juice WRLD.

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Yellowcard’s legal battle against the late Juice WRLD’s estate has come to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The Blast, Juice WRLD’s mother Carmela Wallace has not been able to sign off on the petition to make her the head of the estate due to the coronavirus pandemic that has shut down the majority of non-essential services.

Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

Because the papers haven’t been signed, Wallace filed documents stating that there’s no concrete timeline of when she’ll be able to get a judge to sign the papers. The papers were necessary in order for the lawsuit to move forward. “Consequently, the Estate remains unable to participate in the case until a personal representative is appointed, thereby leaving Defendants unable to conduct a proper fact investigation or take any action on behalf of the Estate, whose participation is crucial to Defendants’ defenses,” a note reads. The case was put on hold until the matters with the estate are sorted.

Yellowcard filed a lawsuit against Juice WRLD, Tay Taylor and Interscope for using a sample from their song, “Holly Wood Died” for “Lucid Dreams” without getting their authorization or even coughing up a dime. They filed a lawsuit for $15M against the rapper, his label and the song’s producer. We’ll keep you posted on any more updates regarding the legal battle. 

It’s rumored that at the time of his death, Juice WRLD had over 2,000 unreleased tracks in his vault. What was to be done with the massive collection of music hadn’t been decided on as the young rapper’s family, friends, and fans mourned his unexpected passing. There were dozens of artists who considered themselves to be close friends of Juice WRLD who came forward following his death to share their grief. Grade A Productions music executive Lil Bibby saw himself as a mentor to the rising rapper and on Thursday (April 9), he shared a brief video of himself with Juice WRLD.

Jamie McCarthy / Staff / Getty Images

“Miss my lil bro walking round wit skateboards and sh*t, playing wit Yugio cards and watching Naruto ??‍♂️?? @juicewrld999 #999,” he wrote in the caption to his video. He reportedly added in the comments, “Album Coming soon????.” This comes a little over a week since Juice’s girlfriend, Ally Lotti, previewed his posthumous single.

Juice previously revealed to XXL why he decided to ink a deal with Grade A Productions. “I decided to sign with Lil Bibby and G Money at Grade A because as far as just where we from and them letting me know like, they made it clear exactly what was gonna happen, the chances of something happening, the chances of something not happening,” he said. “They kept it a hunnid. That’s one of the best choices I probably ever made.” Check out Lil Bibby’s post below and let us know who you would like to see featured on Juice WRLD’s posthumous project.

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XXXTentacion and Juice WRLD never got the chance to work together, but fans of the two artists would have gone crazy if that collaboration did come to life. They shared so much in common. Both have been hailed as modern-day legends, tapping into their emotions to deliver some of the most heartfelt rap songs of the last several years. Both artists were taken away from us far too soon, losing their lives in their early twenties. 

During an Instagram Live session this week, XXXTentacion's baby mama Jenesis Sanchez was speaking to Juice WRLD's girlfriend Ally Lotti and, midway through their conversation, a surprise entrant made his way into the shot, pleasing everybody in attendance.

Worlds collided this week when XXXTentacion and Juice WRLD's partners hopped on Live together but one of the most heart-warming moments took place when Jenesis Sanchez brought her baby Gekyume Onfroy into the shot.

Ally Lotti went absolutely wild for the little one, who XXXTentacion never actually got the chance to meet. She was embracing her dog during the call.

Jenesis then goes on to explain that people are mad at her on TikTok because she gave her son a haircut. She shows an adorable little bald spot on the back of the baby boy's head, joking that it's been there since he was born.

Once the quarantine is over, you can bet your top dollar that these two will be linking up in person.

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#JuiceWrld’s girlfriend Ally with Jenesis, the mother of #XXXTentacion’s child, Gekyume, who makes a surprise appearance | XXX 999 ?

A post shared by XXL (@xxl) on Apr 8, 2020 at 6:52am PDT

Tekashi 6ix9ine tried to start beef with anybody that threatened his position on the charts, including Juice WRLD. Although their spat was short-lived and very one-sided, Juice WRLD’s feelings over their disagreement have been revealed in a new interview by Adam22 of No Jumper.

During his life, Juice WRLD developed a friendship with Adam22 and in a new sit-down chat with VladTV, the podcast host explains how the late Chicago star really felt about his brief feud with the rainbow-haired Brooklyn rapper.

Attempting to kick off a feud with Juice WRLD, Tekashi 6ix9ine filmed a video parody with “Lucid Dreams” as a base. He pretended to be the hitmaker after finding out that his girlfriend was cheating on him, sitting in the corner of a room and writing lyrics. Apparently, Juice WRLD found the video funny, telling Adam22 that he had a laugh at the clip.

“His whole brand was just being the nicest kid in the world,” said Adam22 about the late 21-year-old. “Nobody ever really had anything against him. I remember 6ix9ine trying to beef with him… he thought it was funny. He thought it was hilarious. To be fair, the video that 6ix9ine made where he goes into the corner of the room and he starts playing the Juice WRLD song fake crying, that 6ix9ine video is one of the funniest diss Instagram clips ever done about another rapper ever. I’m not at all surprised that Juice WRLD was able to find that so funny.”

Juice WRLD passed away last year after an accidental drug overdose. Watch the video interview from Adam22 below.

Chicago rapper Juice WRLD passed away at the young age of twenty-one last year, breaking the hearts of so many hip-hop fans excited about his progress. During his short career, the superstar had impressed so many people with his freestyling skills, his melodic magic, and his electric performances. The late artist’s record label has already confirmed that they will be releasing a posthumous body of work by him, and the first single has possibly just been previewed by Ally Lotti.

Juice WRLD and Ally Lotti had been dating for several months before the rapper suffered a fatal seizure because of a drug overdose in December 2019. She played a major part in his happiness, posting lovely photos of themselves on a regular basis. During a recent live-stream, Lotti teased the release of his first-ever posthumous record, which appears to be about her.

“Put your left hand in my right/I’m your best friend, you’re my wife,” rhymes Juice WRLD on the song before describing the tattoos on her chest. Hearing his voice is bittersweet, but it’s clear that the fans are hungry for new music from the late star. Comments from the live-stream were begging Ally to drop the song. Surely, when it’s mixed and mastered it will be out.

Listen below and let us know if you’re feeling it.

The loss of Juice WRLD still weighs heavy on the hip-hop community. He was a star that bolted into the stardom and was merely getting his feet wet. Though he became the face of emo-rap and the Soundcloud rap scene, he was undoubtedly capable of doing so much more as we've seen from his work with Trippie Redd to Eminem.

Bennett Raglin/Getty Images

Kid Cudi was one artist that Juice WRLD was longing to work with. Though there were discussions of it happening, it didn't come into fruition in time. Cudi hit Twitter yesterday where he dug up a 2018 tweet from Juice WRLD requesting a collab before recounting their first interaction at Coachella.

"It hurts we never got to work together. When we met at Coachella I was surprised u were even a fan. I didnt feel so old after all haha I got something just for u I hope u love. All for you brother. Tell my dad I said hey. Love u man," Cudi wrote. Afterward, he shared a text exchange between him and Juice. "Dude! So awesome finally meeting u. Lets stay in touch, im runnin around a bit but hopefully, we can get up," Cudi wrote to Juice.

In late January, it was revealed that he had an unreleased album that he was readying to release with over 2,000 songs in the vault. Perhaps we'll hear Kid Cudi vocals on it. Check the tweets below. 

We’ve lost a number of artists recently to drug-related deaths including Lil Peep, Mac Miller, Lexii Alijai, and reportedly Juice WRLD. The growing list has caused rap artists to take a long, hard look at their lyrical content as it pertains to drug use. Some have even pledged to stop rapping about popping pills and drinking lean, while others have vocalized that while they don’t promote drug use, they still intend to talk about it in their songs.

When Fredo Bang, who once regularly drank lean, sat down with Vlad TV, he shared his thoughts on his generation of artists’ addiction issues. “I feel like a lot of us need help out here,” Fredo said. “Therapy. A lot of us have disorders and stuff that we don’t know of. I feel like everybody should be evaluated at some point in they life. Early on. Especially if you go through something.”

“The Juice WLRD thing, it’s real sensitive because it was like, a bad way,” he added. “I feel like a lotta people… It’s the way… I took it as he took it to get rid of them because the police was there.” Vlad interjected to share the circumstances around Juice WRLD’s death once again. “It’s sad,” the rapper said. Even though Fredo Bang had never met the Chicago rapper, he still admitted that “Juice WRLD was one of my favorite artists.”

“That’s what makes it a hurtful situation because it wasn’t like, I think dude was supposed to have got clean,” Fredo said. “I don’t know. It wasn’t like he was just taking them and getting loaded. He did it to not go to jail.” Fredo Bang added that “[President] Trump doing the opioid stuff” has caused there to be “a lotta fake pills” to be manufactured and distributed on the streets.

He said that people support Trump wanting to tackle the opioid crisis, “but they don’t know that it’s causing the reaction of fake pills people worse than the actual pills.” Check out the rapper with Vlad TV below.

It looks like Juice WRLD’s estate is finally making some leeway in appointing a legal representative to handle the ongoing lawsuits against the late rap star. The Chicago artist passed away at the extremely young age of twenty-one, shaking up the landscape of the hip-hop world during his short career. The certified hitmaker was a favorite to many, and he will be remembered forever through his music.

Although WRLD was just starting out in the music business, he amassed a small fortune with his successful tour schedule, his two hit albums, and even further contributions. The extent of his earnings was unclear until this week but, according to a new report, the rapper was worth approximately $3.3 million at the time of his death.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The late recording artist was blooming as a bonafide superstar and it makes sense that he was swimming in money in the final months of his life. Juice WRLD lived in a Miami condo, worth around $1.5 million. He also had several active bank accounts at the time of his death, with one valued at just over $1 million.

As for his personal belongings, a collection of jewelry and watches has been valued at around half a million dollars. 

As it pertains to the upcoming legal affairs involving the rapper, his mother Carmela Wallace is expected to be appointed the representative for the estate.

Rest in peace, Juice WRLD. 999 Forever.

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This week’s “Fire Emoji” Spotify playlist is not to be slept on. This week has been one of the most historic weeks in hip-hop history in quite some time. Lil Uzi Vert released a total of two chart-topping projects in Eternal Atake (2020) and LUV Vs. The World 2 (2020) after years of battling with DJ Drama’s Generation One imprint. Jay Electronica finally released his debut album, A Written Testimony (2020), after a decade-plus long wait for his devoted fellowship. And YNW Melly delivered on a Juice WRLD “Suicidal (Remix)” from the discomfort of his jail cell.  Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Lil Uzi Vert currently has the opportunity to surpass Eminem’s record for total album sales this new year with both of his highly-anticipated releases. While Rich The Kid, Curren$y, and more have all dropped listen-worthy projects for their loyal fanbases. Also, what have become hip-hop mainstays in Lil Baby and Megan Thee Stallion made appearances of this week’s “Fire Emoji” playlist. 

Highly coveted hip-hop staples including Gunna, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Keed, Jhene Aiko, Ab-Soul, and more make their way onto the playlist as well. Check out this week’s “Fire Emoji” playlist in the Spotify streaming link below. 

It looks like Trippie Redd was really missing his old friend, Juice WRLD, this week, as he posted a photo of the two of them on Instagram that had fans getting emotional in the comments. On Tuesday, Trippie shared the shot of him and his late buddy standing side-by-side. While the photo doesn’t show either of their faces, it’s immediately obvious who is featured in the shot just from the back of each of their heads. Trippie opted not to include a caption, letting the picture simply speak for itself.

Fans flooded the comments to pay their respects, many writing “RIP” and expressing how much they also miss Juice. It was no secret that Trippie, along with the hip-hop community as a whole, was deeply affected by Juice’s tragic passing. After the 21-year-old died from a drug-induced seizure back in December, Trippie declared that he was going to give up drugs for good. “We ain’t doin’ it no more,” he said on Instagram Live. “Period. If it ain’t weed, we ain’t doin’ it no more.” He went on to say that he would still rap about drugs, but that that was it. “I ain’t sippin’ no lean, I ain’t poppin’ no pills but Imma still talk about it in music,” he said. “Maybe.”

The same day that Juice passed, Trippie also posted an old screenshot of the two of them Facetiming each other. “I kinda hate life tbh I’m so sick and tired of this shit honestly…..” he wrote in the caption. While Juice WRLD may be gone forever, he lives on in his music. YNW Melly just announced that the remix of his song, “Suicidal,” will be dropping Friday, and will feature a posthumous verse from Juice.

When incarcerated Florida rapper YNW Melly shared a cryptic post on social media with this Friday’s date highlighted, speculation started to rise about what the recording artist had planned for his fans. Although he has not been acquitted of his double murder charges, it was widely believed by supporters of the 20-year-old that he would be getting out of jail this week. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case as Melly has just shared what’s actually going down on March 13.

Showing off the cover artwork for his upcoming musical release, YNW Melly told the world that he would be dropping the “Suicidal” remix in a number of days. The remix will feature a posthumous verse by Juice WRLD, serving as just the second instance we hear the late Chicago rapper on a new song. The artwork shows animated versions of both rappers, with Melly gripping a snake around his neck as if it were a noose.

“Suicidal” is one of the more popular songs from YNW Melly’s most recent body of work. Melly Vs. Melvin was released last year from behind bars.

At this point, the 20-year-old is still at risk of being sentenced to the death penalty for allegedly murdering two of his friends. We will keep you posted on any updates in his case.

Eminem has always been a commercial juggernaut dating back to his major-label debut in 1999, but somehow the rapper continues to secure platinum plaques over twenty years later. With his latest album Music To Be Murdered By already having gone gold, it seemed inevitable for breakout single, the Juice WRLD-assisted "Godzilla" to follow-suit. What with the ongoing #GODZILLACHALLENGE and all, which has already elicited responses from Biz Markie, Bizzy Bone, and Twista. 

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

This is a new era, and a viral challenge has often proven to be crucial in boosting both sales and longevity. As responses continue to roll in, Chart Data has confirmed that Em and Juice's "Godzilla" is the first record off Music To Be Murdered By to hit that platinum status, clocking in a grand total of one million album-equivalent units. Not bad for a song that has yet to receive a music video, though Em has already confirmed that it's on the way.

At this rate, it won't be long before the RIAA makes the news official, with the next logical step being the album's own platinum ascent. It's crazy to think Slim Shady is still moving units this deep into his career, on a single that found him breaking a Guinness World Record at that. As he once said on "Till I Collapse" all those years ago: "A plaque and platinum status is wack if I'm not the baddest." Given that Em has once again hit a clear stride on Music To Be Murdered By, you've gotta give credit where credit is due. Something tells me this won't be Eminem's final platinum record -- though it might certainly be his fastest. 

Fresh off the release of his new album PTSD, G Herbo has hit up Adam 22’s No Jumper podcast for an extensive conversation on a variety of topics. At the start, Herbo opens up about his own experience with post-traumatic stress disorder and how it tends to affect those who move in his environment and abide by streetlife principles. 

“A lot of people in the streets don’t know how to deal with their emotions,” explains Herbo. “They have to behave a certain way because they have to be in these situations over and over again. They can’t relive moments that happened yesterday, a week ago, a month ago. You just have to have a vision in life. I was in the streets, I knew I could either die or go to jail every time I left the house. I knew in my mind I didn’t want to…I saw myself being more than just that.”

He also opens up about some of the fallen rappers, including both Pop Smoke and his close friend Juice WRLD. “I never met Pop, but I feel like I knew him a lot,” says Herbo, around the twenty-minute mark. “I’ve just been supporting him since I heard him. I felt like I knew him, to be honest. His energy, and to be honest I have friends who from that area. I just fucked with him, he rock with bro & them? He hard. It was about the beats, to be honest.'” Adam muses that he thought Smoke would have been safe moving to Los Angeles, which made his death all the more unexpected. “As a culture, as artists, as young men together, we need to see the reasoning in shit,” says Herbo. “You gotta be calculated out here.”

As the conversation shifts to Juice WRLD, Herbo admits that the young rapper’s death still weighs heavily on him. “That was my real little brother,” says Herbo. “I knew shorty. I knew him. Shit is real. PTSD is real. Anxiety is real. Addiction is real. These people on the outside looking in, you gotta understand that we all human at the end of the day. You can look at an artist like Juice WRLD, as big as he is, and think he’s supposed to be perfect. He was twenty-one. He was still twenty basically. He was a kid…Shit is real, everything in life don’t happen by coincidence. People fighting addiction, there are reasons why. I don’t think that kid was doing drugs to fit in.”

G Herbo took his talents over to Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club and dropped a major bombshell comparing the late Chicago rapper, Juice WRLD to that have Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur. The 24-year-old rapper is currently on a promo tour in promotion of his latest musical offering, PTSD (2020), which dropped earlier this week. G Herbo and the Breakfast Club clan spoke on a plethora of topics including his traumatic experiences growing up in Chicago, mental health, philanthropy, and more. However, when the topic of his brother Juice WRLD came up, the “Death Row” rapper likened him to hip-hop deities.  

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Towards the end of their conversation, the topic of the “Hate Me” creator arose to which G Herbo couldn’t help but compare him to hip-hop’s two greatest heavyweights, stating: 

“That’s my lil’ brother man, I think about him every single day. I be saying…like, I don’t know ’cause I’m in New York y’all probably ain’t gonna like me saying this, but I think what Juice was to our generation—the impact that he had on us—is what Biggie did for New York for real. I really think he had that Biggie Pac effect in his short time here.”

G Herbo then went on to state the importance of Juice WRLD’s impact and legacy, proclaiming:

“He helped people. … When I met that kid he had it in his eyes already, he wasn’t trying to chase the glory, he wasn’t doing none of the stuff he was doing because he was famous” Herbo continued, “Inside out, he did what made him happy, and with him being himself he got a real legacy that’s gonna live on forever. … That’s what I mean by that.”

Out of all of this week’s releases, G Herbo’s PTSD has the opportunity to do damage on the Billboard charts. While it’s still very early in his career, the Chicago-bred emcee has quickly become one of the most sought-after talents in the hip-hop realm. Check out G Herbo’s entire Breakfast Club interview below. (At the 24:45 minute mark, Herbo discusses his admiration for Juice WRLD.) 

It looks like A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was trying to get Chicago rapper Juice Wrld on his song “Me & My Guitar” off his Artist 2.0 project. In a new interview with Brandon “Jinx” Jenkins, the NYC spitter revealed he specifically made his guitar song for Juice Wrld.

“To be honest, I made that song for Juice Wrld to get on. I was in LA and I was talking to Bibby… Juice Wrld never picked up his phone mind you. He lost his phone every other day literally. Rest in Peace to the bro though,” A Boogie says in the clip.

A Boogie continues: “Yeah I was tryna send it to him but it happened like a week later I think. I feel like nobody else could even master up to that. If I put anybody else on that song it never would made no sense so. Even though people will look like it’s not my style to drop a rockstar song like that, and they’ll be like ‘yeah thats some Juice Wrld shit,’ I made it for Juice Wrld.” he adds. (swipe right to watch clip)

While we didn’t get to hear Juice on “Me & My Guitar,” the two did previously link up on the track “Demons & Angels,” off A Boogie’s 2018 tape Hoodie SZN.

Check out the full 30-minute interview with A Boogie & Jinx (below) and stream Artist 2.0 right here if you haven’t already.

If he wasn’t a rap star, G Herbo is adamant that he wouldn’t be anywhere near social media. He and his girlfriend Taina Williams regularly share photos of one another and have been called “couple goals” by fans, but Herbo said that people on social media take themselves too seriously and judge others without merit. “People feel like they know you like, ‘Oh Herb, you this way,'” the rapper told Complex. “Actually, I’m this way. I’m human at the end of the day. They think we’re perfect. Like, the internet wants to perfect people in so many ways.”

G Herbo has been on a media tour to promote his upcoming PTSD that drops on Friday. The rapper talked with the outlet about the project, but a significant amount of the discussion was spent on sharing memories about Juice WRLD. “Shorty was just a genuine dude, through and through,” Herbo said of his late friend. “He really loved music. He was passionate about what he did. He wanted to like, make people happy. He didn’t really care about, ‘Lemme be that n*gga.’ ‘Cause shorty was that n*gga. He could have walked around with his chest poked out as much as he want to but he never did that.”

“He just started recording two years ago,” Herbo added. “I guarantee you he had over 1,500 songs. Well over a thousand songs. How you even gon’ get a thousand songs out? Yeah, shorty was different.” Then, Herbo shared memories of the goofy things he and Juice WRLD would do together like have lightsaber fights.

“I got in a motorcycle accident f*ckin’ with that kid,” Herbo remembered. “I was going 50 miles per hour just because I was with him and he loved motorcycles. He’ll go spend $50,000 on bikes and he just had bikes outside.” Watch G Herbo’s interview in full below.

News struck this week that Frank Ocean is planning on releasing a brand new single to the world, cancelling pre-orders for the "Little Demon" vinyl and replacing it with an unreleased track. Perhaps the reclusive star is also working on contributing to the first posthumous album released by Juice WRLD. Or, at least that's what Lil Bibby is hoping for.

The head of Juice WRLD's label Grade A Productions, Lil Bibby, just sent out a public call for Frank Ocean to sing on the upcoming posthumous album by late 21-year-old Juice WRLD. The Chicago star passed away in December 2019 of a drug overdose and, since then, his team has announced that unreleased music will eventually find its way onto streaming services. While there remains no release date for Juice WRLD's first posthumous project, Bibby is not making it a secret that he wants the sweet, soothing tones of Frank Ocean's voice on there.

Chicago rapper G Herbo is gearing up to deliver his first album of the year, and if the title is any indication we’re looking at a highly personal effort. With PTSD set to drop on Friday, February 28th, Herbo has officially unveiled the tracklist to the fourteen-song deep album, with more than a few heavy hitters tapped to lend a hand. Look for contributions from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, BJ The Chicago Kid, Lil Durk, Lil Uzi Vert, Chance The Rapper, a posthumous feature from Juice WRLD, 21 Savage, Polo G and more.

Noel Vasquez/Getty Images 

It’s likely that many will immediately look to the title track, which features Juice WRLD, Chance The Rapper, and Lil Uzi Vert. As you might recall, Herbo and Juice WRLD were particularly close and the latter’s death took a heavy toll on Herbo’s mindstate. It wouldn’t be surprising to see “PTSD” emerge as an emotional standout, one in which themes of loss, friendship, and the perils of Chicago’s inner-city are covered at length. 

Check out the full tracklist below, and look for G Herbo’s upcoming album to hit in a week’s time — are you expecting this one to be his most complete body of work yet? 

1. Intro
2. Glass in the Face (Ft. A Boogie Wit da Hoodie)
3. Gangsta’s Cry (Ft. BJ the Chicago Kid)
4. In This Bitch
5. Death Row
6. Party in Heaven (Ft. Lil Durk)
7. PTSD (Ft. Chance the Rapper, Juice WRLD & Lil Uzi Vert)
8. By Any Means (Ft. 21 Savage)
9. Gangbangin’
10. Lawyer Fees (Ft. Polo G)
11. Feelings
12. High Speed
13. Shooter (Ft. Jacquees)
14. Intuition (Ft. 2PRETTY & Sonta)

When Eminem emerged from the blue to drop Music To Be Murdered By, curiosity brought many listeners to the Juice WRLD collaboration “Godzilla.” A playful and dexterous rap clinic produced by D.A. Doman, the track seemed tailor-made for radio play, a callback to the carefree days of “Without Me” and “The Real Slim Shady,” or perhaps a less serious counterpart to the more recent “Rap God.” Not to mention that it happened to mark the first link-up between Eminem and Juice WRLD, one of hip-hop’s open Slim Shady fanboys. 

Kevin Winter/Getty Images

With the track already having experienced commercial success and breaking a Guinness World Record for fastest rap verse, it’s no wonder that Slim and his people have decided to give it the official single treatment. As such, “Godzilla” will follow “Darkness” as the next video from Music To Be Murdered By. 

The news was confirmed by Em’s longtime manager Paul Rosenberg, who confirmed some truly outlandish visual antics destined to put “Rap God” to shame. ” I remember when we made [the “Rap God”] video and Em kept saying he literally wanted a laptop in his back pocket and he wanted to levitate in a cipher (smh, we made it happen),” he writes, Instagram. “Wait until you see what he does in “Godzilla”!”

As of now, a release date has yet to be revealed. Look for more news on the upcoming “Godzilla” video in the days to come — it shouldn’t be too long now.

Many are still feeling the loss of Juice WRLD, the Chicago-bred rapper that died due to an overdose-induced seizure two months ago just a week after turning 21 years old. Of those mourning the most are his peers in the game, including fellow Midwestern emcee Polo G who expressed his grief on IG earlier today.

Noam Galai/Getty Images for Spotify

Making for a pretty somber throwback Thursday photo, Polo shared a flick of the two rappers side by side with a simple caption that read, “Chicago AllStars.” In a second pic posted, the “Pop Out” emcee included a screengrab of a tweet that Juice WRLD himself posted on Twitter in November 2019, basically stating the same sentiment months prior by writing, “Me and polo g Chicago all stars.” What’s sadder is the fact that his props to Polo would be one of his final tweets given the fact that he died eight days later. Over 300,000 people have like Polo’s Instagram tribute since he posted it a few hours ago, and we can only stand in agreeing with each and every one of them. Juice’s sculpture from the Brooklyn Museum RapCar Pantheon last year (seen above) is just one example of his early legend status.

Peep Polo G’s tribute to Juice WRLD below:

Without any legal representation for Juice WRLD’s estate, Yellowcard’s $15 million lawsuit against the late rapper has been placed on hold for the time being. We had a feeling this might happen after it was revealed that Juice WRLD’s estate had not yet appointed a representative to handle all legal affairs, leading to the dragging of a lawsuit brought forth by pop-punk band Yellowcard. 

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The premise of the lawsuit stems from Yellowcard’s belief that they should have gotten a piece of the pie from the Chicago rapper’s hit single “Lucid Dreams,” which uses a very similar melody to their song “Holly Wood Died.” The band is asking for $15 million in damages but, without anybody in charge of Juice WRLD’s estate at the moment, it is being reported that a Los Angeles judge ordered for the case to be paused until that situation is handled. As of now, the hold appears to be indefinite, allowing the late artist’s family time to appoint somebody appropriate to his legal affairs.

Juice WRLD’s family and his team at Grade A Productions have stated that the rapper has over 2,000 songs stashed away, ready to be released posthumously. While we’re sure not all of these will see the light of day, future bodies of work have been confirmed.

Rest in peace, Juice WRLD.

Juice WRLD, one of the most beloved members of the new school rap class, passed away in December 2019 and, according to new reports, his estate is having difficulty appointing a representative for his ongoing legal affairs. The late star’s hit record “Lucid Dreams” remains at the center of several lawsuits, including one brought out by pop-punk band Yellowcard. It shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Chicago artist was influenced by a number of rock bands during his short-lived career and, after his death, many people expected Yellowcard to drop their lawsuit against him. They are still searching $15 million, claiming that the similarities in melodies between “Lucid Dreams” and their song “Holly Wood Died” are blatant. However, things appear to be stalled because of a lack of legal representation within Juice WRLD’s estate.

Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

According to an exclusive report by AllHipHop, the lawsuit is lagging because there is no official legal rep appointed to Juice WRLD’s estate. Lawyer Mark C. Humphrey commented on the case, saying: “They have recently learned that Mr. Higgins’s estate has not yet gone through the probate process, and that there presently is no authorized representative to handle the Estate’s affairs. The Estate’s current inability to participate in this action creates a number of impediments to Defendants’ defense of this action, including but not limited to their ability to conduct a factual investigation.”

Juice WRLD’s estate is reportedly being given until March 3, 2020 to respond to the lawsuit. 

In other Juice WRLD-related news, his family and estate are planning on releasing posthumous music from the late rapper. He reportedly has over 2,000 finished songs in his bank waiting to be dropped and, while not all of them will be released, we’re expecting at least one album attributed to the star posthumously.

Many people only know of Alabama rapper Clever because of Juice WRLD. On Death Race to Love, the lesser-known artist features on “Ring Ring,” a standout from the entire album. If you’ve dug deeper into Clever’s discography, you’ll realize that the man has been hustling for a minute. Shotty label deals and some time in prison limited him from making a major impact in the rap game but now, he’s coming through strong with some high-profile spots. This year, we’re expecting him to pop up on records with Justin Bieber and Post Malone, continuing his rise to the top and opening eyes to his already-strong brand. Because of his connection to Juice WRLD, Clever was shaken up when he heard that his friend had passed away last month and, this week, he decided to pay homage to the Chicago star in the form of a brand new tattoo.

Amy Sussman/Getty Images

When we spoke to Clever on the phone last year, the budding star told us that he was in the midst of getting a brand new face tattoo, covering up some existing ink with an umbrella. Clever added to his growing collection of body art, opting to get a portrait of Juice WRLD on his arm and the end result is damn-near perfect. Showing off the ink as part of a photo gallery on Instagram, the rapper’s new piece is incredibly well-done, featuring some seriously impressive shading and linework.

Check out Clever’s new homage to Juice WRLD below and be sure to check out his new project Who Is Clever?

His posthumously released collaboration with Eminem has helped the late Juice WRLD climb the charts once again. Music To Be Murdered By‘s “Godzilla” reached the No. 1 spot in U.K. charts, making it the first for the late rapper. Last week, it was shared by Juice’s family and team that there were plans in place to continue his legacy by sharing his unreleased music with the world in the coming months.

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“From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank each and every one of you for your undivided adoration and love for Juice,” they stated. “You guys meant the entire world to Juice and by listening to his music, watching his videos and sharing your stories about him, you are keeping his memory alive forever. We plan to honor Juice’s talents, his spirit, and the love he felt for his fans by sharing unreleased music and other projects that he was passionately in the process of developing. There will be a public tribute in Chicago, details will be shared soon.”

TMZ reports that last week 26 of Juice WRLD’s tracks were leaked online but were swiftly removed. The outlet also shares that while the artist was diligent about keeping his music safely stored and hidden, there were times when he would download to hard drives at the studio. It’s reported that Juice was constantly writing new music and that he has approximately 2,000 unreleased tracks. Recent posthumous albums have arrived from XXXTentacion and Mac Miller, so Juice WRLD’s team is planning to follow suit. What that project looks like, exactly, is still speculative.

XXXTentacion’s Bad Vibes Forever included a number of features including Lil Wayne, Rick Ross, Trippie Redd, and Joyner Lucas. However, Mac Miller stood alone on Circles. It will be interesting to see what Juice WRLD’s team comes up with in the end.

Notably, Juice WRLD's vocals found a place on Eminem's newest Music To Be Murdered By album where he makes his appearance on "Godzilla" as he delivers on the track's chorus.  Now as fans have begun to enjoy physical copies of Shady's latest, they have shared new copies of the CD's liner notes that show that the album is dedicated to Juice WRLD along with CeeAaqil Allah Barnes, Eminem's late bodyguard.

Just when you thought he was on another hiatus, Eminemcame through swinging a week ago with the release of Music To Be Murdered By. The album was met with mixed reception, although it’s still the topic of conversation a week later. Despite this, it’s gaining a ton of traction, not only in North America but across the world as well. 

Music To Be Murdered By has hit a monumental milestone for both Eminem and Juice WRLD. The project debuted at the top of the UK albums charts and “Godzilla,” Juice WRLD’s posthumous feature on Em’s album, has debuted at the top of the U.K. songs chart. The song hasn’t been chosen as the single but clearly, fans have been drawn to this song the most. Per Forbes, “Godzilla” marks Juice WRLD’s first number-one single in the UK as well as the first release since his death. Previously, Juice WRLD hit the top 10 with “Lucid Dreams.”

“Godzilla” also marked another significant moment in Em’s career as well. The rapper set a brand new record after reportedly rapping 229 words in 30 seconds. Eminem broke his own record previously set with the single, “Rap God.”

Meanwhile, Eminem’s album is expected to top the Billboard 200 this week with his new project. Industry forecasters say he’s projected to sell 280K in the first week which will mark his 10th consecutive chart-topper. 

Just a day after Juice WRLD’s cause of death was revealed, more details surrounding the late musician’s final moments are now starting to come out from the accounts of those closest to him.

TMZ is reporting that Alicia Leon, the girlfriend of Juice WRLD at the time he died of an accidental overdose, told authorities at Midway Airport that he “let out a gasp and collapsed to the ground” in the same moment that FBI agents started to search his bags. She also let cops on the scene know that Juice didn’t complain one bit of any illness before suffering those fatal seizures, although she did confirm his year-long addiction to Percocet. Other details not privy to the public, including the fact Juice WRLD was bleeding from the mouth and nose when paramedics arrived and that he died wearing black nail polish designed with white crosses on his two middle fingernails, paint a sad-yet-vivid picture of the seconds that led to a young music legacy being tragically cut short.

Read the full report over on TMZ, which breaks down that day in more detail and gives a broader look at some of the questionable findings from the medical report. R.I.P forever, Juice WRLD.

The first posthumous feature from Juice WRLD was rightfully allotted to Eminem, the late Chicago rapper's idol, on his brand new album Music To Be Murdered By. Even better -- it was revealed this week that the song in question, "Godzilla," earned a new world record for Eminem, placing Juice WRLD in the Guinness books as well. While his contributions to the song didn't net him the "fastest rapper ever" title, it's still bittersweet for such an accomplishment to even be attached to the late star. After his cause of death was revealed yesterday, marking an accidental drug overdose from codeine and oxycodone, Juice WRLD's family has issued a statement where they detail the plans for his future posthumous releases, as well as a tribute planned in his hometown.

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"From the bottom of our hearts we want to thank each and every one of you for your undivided adoration and love for Juice," wrote the rapper's family and his team at Grade A. "You guys meant the entire world to Juice and by listening to his music, watching his videos and sharing your stories about him, you are keeping his memory alive forever. We plan to honor Juice's talents, his spirit, and the love he felt for his fans by sharing unreleased music and other projects that he was passionately in the process of developing. There will be a public tribute in Chicago, details will be shared soon."

A number of Juice WRLD's unreleased songs leaked onto the internet this weekend. The man was known for his incredible work ethic in the studio, often freestyling handfuls of songs on a nightly basis. He certainly has a vast catalog stashed away in the vault for his closest collaborators and family to sift through and determine what would fit his vision best for any posthumous work.

Rest in power, Juice WRLD.

We all know that Eminem, the self-proclaimed Rap God, can spit extraordinarily quickly. He's shown off his rapid-fire ability throughout his career, specializing in quick-paced bars and memorable punchlines, even earning himself a Guinness World Record for the fastest rap song ever with "Rap God." If you thought the Detroit legend was washed, you clearly were incorrect because, after last week, we're convinced that Eminem still has the energy for another run at the top. With Music To Be Murdered By, Slim Shady is fixing to sit at the top of the Billboard 200 next week but that's not the only accomplishment he will likely enjoy.

At the young age of 21, Chicago rapper Juice WRLD passed away after suffering a seizure at the Midway Airport in his hometown. Several reports have claimed that, prior to landing, the recording artist was informed that the feds would be searching his plane for drugs and guns after receiving a tip from the pilot. Juice WRLD reportedly swallowed a number of pills in an attempt to hide the evidence but it looks like that may have been a deadly mistake because, as reported by XXL, the young man’s death has officially been ruled an accidental drug overdose.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office reportedly confirmed to the publication that Juice WRLD’s death on December 8, 2019 was the cause of “oxycodone and codeine toxicity.” The report also notes that his death was not intentional.

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The rapper’s record label, Geffen A&M Records, previously issued a statement on his passing. “Juice made a profound impact on the world in such a short period of time,” they wrote. “He was a gentle soul, whose creativity knew no bounds, an exceptional human being and artist who loved and cared for his fans above everything else. To lose someone so kind and so close to our hearts is devastating. Our thoughts are with Juice’s family and friends, everyone at his label Grade A, and his millions of fans around the world.”

Juice WRLD recently appeared on his idol Eminem’s surprise album, featuring on the standout track “Godzilla.” Rest in power, Juice WRLD. We miss you.

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Juice WRLD’s tragic death last month hit the world hard, and his musical genius and impressive freestyling skills continue to be remembered. The young Chicago rapper released his last body of work in March of 2019 with Death Race For Love, so it’s no surprise that he would have already had tons of music in the vault prior to his passing. It looks like one Internet nuisance assumed as much, since, per HipHopNMore, a hacker has managed to get their hands on Juice’s inventory of unreleased tracks. HHNM shared that dozens of Juice’s songs have been posted on SoundCloud under the name “999 WRLD.” While an exact number has not yet been determined, at least 26 tracks from the young talent have surfaced online.

Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images for Spotify

The tracks in the leaked collection bear titles like “Boss Of Me,” “Codependent,” “Dome,” “Facetious,” “F*ck About Your Feelings,” “Hypnotic,” “KKK/999,” “Runaway,” “Work Out,” though it is not known whether Juice gave these names to these songs himself. Among the mix is a collab with Lil Yachty called “Confused.” Though Juice’s estate and family have not announced any plans to release a posthumous album of any kind, these tracks just might end up on there if such a thing occurs. Juice was posthumously featured on “Godzilla” off of Eminem‘s latest album, Music To Be Murdered By, which dropped without warning on Friday. A photo of Juice from the night he recorded his verse on the track was shared following the surprise drop.

It’s a real shame that Juice WRLD never got a chance to hear his verse on Eminem’s new album Music To Be Murdered By get released while he was still alive. The late 20-year-old expressed how much of a fan he was of the Detroit legend, admitting that he was majorly influenced by Eminem when he decided to get into music. Included on the track “Godzilla,” Juice WRLD has a highlight appearance on the album, chopping up Em’s fast-paced bars and his extremely rapid-fire delivery nicely with a melodic hook. The young man clearly would have been excited about the surprise drop and, in a photo shared by the Chicagoan’s personal photographer, Juice WRLD can be seen on the night he recorded his portion of the cut.

Chris Long worked hand-in-hand with Juice WRLD to capture some behind-the-scenes moments from the star’s career, following him around and providing him with content to share on social media and other outlets. He was among those who kept the major secret that Juice WRLD was working with Eminem, contributing to his surprise album and featuring on “Godzilla” and he documented the night by taking several photographs of the young legend at work. 

Alongside D Savage and a number of other people, Juice WRLD smokes a joint and looks at the camera in the picture, knowing full well that he just recorded a standout hook for his idol’s upcoming project. It’s sad to realize that he’ll never hear the track in its final form but we know that he’s looking down on us all with a big smile on his face, bumping that new Em until the wheels fall off.

Legends never die. We’ve had a rough few years in terms of accepting the fact that some of our favorite rappers are gone forever. Thankfully, we still have the musical catalogues containing to industry-shakers like Juice WRLD, XXXTentacion, Mac Miller, Nipsey Hussle and others. After news broke last week about Mac Miller’s upcoming posthumous album Circles, it was confirmed that Nipsey Hussle’s album Victory Lap was finally awarded platinum status. Those two revelations certainly had people thinking over the weekend and one artist envisioned a bunch of rap’s fallen soldiers in one room, playing cards and lighting up one of Heaven’s rooms with their joy. 

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Tory Lanez shared the artwork on his social media profiles, pointing out that he’s not entirely sure of who created the picture but that it brought him to tons of emotional places. “Crazy…. S.I.P … don’t know who made this. But this is incredible,” wrote the Canadian singer. The artwork shows Fredo Santana, Nipsey Hussle, Lil Peep, Mac Miller, A$AP Yams, Juice WRLD and XXXTentacion gathered around a table with cards in their hands, weed on the surface, and half-drunk glasses of whiskey in front of X and Fredo. The picture truly is beautiful.

Remember some of the greatest forces to have impacted this generation of hip-hop below and think of what they could have accomplished had they not been taken away from us so early in their lives.

Men lie, women lie, numbers don't. It's one thing to flex with millions of dollars of jewelry around your neck, designer clothes, foreign whips and a model on your arm. It's another to flex with sales figures, streaming numbers, video views, and the sort. YoungBoy Never Broke Again is the undisputed king of YouTube, taking over the video-sharing platform in 2019 by nearly doubling everybody else's stats. Any given week, you would be able to observe just how much of a pull YB had on his fans, out-performing big names like Post Malone and Drake by a serious margin. With his sales now calculated for the entire year, it has been determined that he was the seventh best-selling artist of the entire year, placing just above some other big names.

At the beginning of the decade, would anybody have guessed that Post Malone, of all people, would have three of the most popular songs of the last ten years? The "White Iverson" rapper blew up on SoundCloud a few years ago and his rise to superstardom has been nothing short of incredible. With his goofy persona and his face filled with ink markings, the Texas-raised rapper has become a true fan-favorite after being criticized for so long by the hip-hop community. Everything he releases turns to gold with all three of his albums enjoying tremendous chart success, streaming like crazy. It's honestly no surprise, knowing what he's become, that three of his records made Nielsen's list of the top-streamed songs of the decade but one newcomer is lucky enough to find his name right at the top.

As we begin a new decade, we look back at all the amazing hits we received in the 2010s. If you were wondering what the ten largest songs of the last ten years were, we've got you covered, beginning with the one-year-old "Old Town Road" at the pole position with 2.5 billion total streams. Right behind it is "Despacito" with Post Malone's first entry, "rockstar," earning the third spot. Elsewhere on the chart, Posty finds himself at No. 7 and No. 9 with "Congratulations" and "Sunflower" respectively. Of course, it would be incomplete without Drake's "God's Plan" earning a spot, as well as the ultra-popular "Lucid Dreams" from the late Juice WRLD.

Are there any surprises on this list? Who do you think will lead the next decade in hits?

In October of 2019, rock band Yellowcard took things to the next level in their claim against Juice WRLD. Upon hearing the massive hit that was “Lucid Dreams,” the band noted similar melodic elements to their song “Holly Wood Died.” To address and rectify the issue of alleged copyright infringement, Yellowcard sent out a notice to Juice WRLD’s team, publisher, and record label. However a lack of response left the band “no real choice” but to file an official complaint. Although both tracks sample Sting’s “Shape of My Heart,” Yellowcard is claiming that the pitch and note composition of each song’s first verse is a blatant copy of one another. But they didn’t just stop there. In addition to the melodies chosen, Yellowcard is also claiming the song similarities come from an emo influence they left behind in the mid 2000s when Juice WRLD was growing up. And this is where things have gotten tricky.

According to Yellowcard, prior to his death, Juice WRLD admitted in previous interviews that he fell in love with emo music as a kid. Juice WRLD cited influences from Fall Out Boy and Foo Fighters. And because of so, Yellowcard is claiming that Juice WRLD would have came across “Holly Wood Died” when he began studying the genre. Whether Juice WRLD was subconsciously influenced by the band, or intended on making something reminiscent of it, the court will now look at whether or not the average person can be convinced that the two songs are the same. Two songs being similar enough to fool someone into accidentally picking one, instead of the other, is a valid idea. But suing due to influence is a rather new play in the endless existence of these copyright cases. 

A Juice WRLD tribute mural displayed at Rolling Loud LA, December, 2019 – Scott Dudelson/Getty Images

Throughout the entire history of sound, every artist has been influenced by someone, and every song has leaned on those influences in some way. So in reality, Yellowcard’s claim of influence shouldn’t hold much merit. But if it does, this case will be yet another recent example, in addition to the “Blurred Lines” case, of how convoluted copyright infringement cases have become from the fact that courts can’t distinguish between stealing someone’s work and being influenced by it. “There’s no such thing as originality in music. Everyday ideas come from previous ideas,” musicologist Jeff Peretz says. “There’s a difference between homage and theft. And that’s the fine line that everybody needs to try and get their head around.”

As he’s often called on to compare sheet music in copyright infringement cases, Jeff Peretz has identified the lack of experts and improperly decided cases as the main reason why artists feel comfortable suing for such things. It’s unclear whether Yellowcard or Juice WRLD’s estate will emerge victorious in this case. But in the meantime, we talked Jeff Peretz about the details of the lawsuit as part of a larger piece that fully explains the ins and outs of copyright infringement cases within the context of the music industry. We’re following that up with even more insight, by giving our readers some of the Q&A that transpired with Peretz. 

This interview has been edited down for clarity and length.

HNHH: How do you think the “Blurred Lines” case has changed the music industry?

Jeff Peretz: That’s a good question. And I had a lively discussion with one of my closest friends, Peter Rosenthal of the in-house counsel for Downtown Music Publishing, and he thinks it’s just a blimp on the radar. And I think that it’s a precedent setting, and definitely ramped up people when it comes to running to their lawyers. In past times, people would’ve been like, “Oh that’s cool. You leaned on some of the things we’ve leaned on.” Think about the blues. The chord progressions in the blues is the same. Every blues song has the same structure, and imagine if the first person copy-wrote that structure and that chord progression. Nobody else would be able to make the blues ever again. And so, we can’t limit these kind of things. I don’t know if the “Blurred Lines” case changed the music industry, it just made people a little bit more trigger happy when it comes to claiming theft. And because they’re looking for an easy payout. I don’t know that it actually affected the way that these things get adjudicated because before “Blurred Lines,” you could’ve convince somebody of anything and after “Blurred Lines,” you could convince somebody of anything. I think after “Blurred Lines,” you’re just starting to see more people try. 

These cases are typically expensive. Do you have any idea as to how much copyright cases are to pursue?

It depends on how far it gets. I’d be shooting in the dark by throwing numbers at you, but many of them are brought with the hopes of a quick settlement to keep the profile down and to keep the reputation in tact to not be considered a thief. I would imagine that the amount of money spent on the “Blurred Lines” case would probably be hundreds and thousands of dollars right now, maybe even more. Whereas a quick cease and desist, threatening a lawsuit can be settled pretty quickly and the amount of money will change. Usually what happens though when the cases are settled, is that they’re settled by the person who is being sued, adding the person who’s making the claim, to the copyright so that they get some of the profits moving forward. Whereas in the “Blurred Lines” case, they were given like $7 million dollars in damages too, which was reduced and then added to the copyright moving forward so any future revenue is split. People are even preemptively doing this now. Think about the song “Panini” by Lil Nas X. That little melody comes from a Nirvana song (“In Bloom”), those three notes. They could’ve probably have gotten away with that, but they didn’t even wanna take a chance, so Kurt Cobain was a co-writer on the song before it was even released. They were like, “I don’t want to have any fucking trouble, so just put him on.” I don’t know what the split was but they were like, “I don’t want any trouble whatsoever, so we’re just going to give him a percentage of this song.” If you open Spotify right now and open the songwriting credits, it’s Lil Nas X, it’s Denzel and Dave Borough from Take A Daytrip, and its Kurt Cobain, as if they collaborated in a room. Kurt Cobain has been dead for how many years? But he’s still writing great songs apparently.

This typically seems to happen once a song blows up. Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dream” got huge, and then Yellowcard decided to sue him. Say that there’s an underground artist as opposed to someone who’s number one on the charts. Are there any requirements surrounding the popularity of an artist?

I would imagine. Half of nothing is nothing. Suing somebody over a song that hasn’t done anything or gone anywhere or made any money, is just kind of senseless. So yeah, and the higher the profile of the song, the more streaming and money it generates. More people come out of the woodwork looking for a piece of that pie. With Lil Nas X, it’s interesting to think like, he had the number one song for however many weeks he was up there. So it almost goes without saying that whatever he dropped next, was going to get some play, right? So I would imagine the legal team that was involved with the writer splits on “Panini” was like, “There’s no way this song is going to go under the radar. So if somebody can make the claim, that it sounds like Nirvana, we need to get ahead of that.” Whereas if that song was written by two unknown artists in some unknown place and it came out and had to try to compete on the charts with its own merit, without the previous song of that artist being a number one hit, I don’t know that it would’ve been handled the same way. I would imagine that they would be less concerned about adding Kurt Cobain as a copyright if it were just an unknown artist who was just trying to make their way out there. To me, one of the coolest things about that song is that it’s familiar. Rhythmically, there are more syllables than the Kurt Cobain song, so there’s no rule that says three notes is good and four notes is bad. But could I walk into a record store and say there’s a song I want to hear and sing that rhythm, and they sell me “Panini” when I’m really trying to buy “In Bloom”? Could I be fooled into thinking I was buying the wrong thing? So apparently, the legal team for Lil Nas X and Take A Daytrip thought it could, so they got out ahead of it and did the copyright. Which as far as the story goes, makes them cool because it makes them fair and understand and be honest. It makes them better than thieves. They borrowed that little piece that fit great into their collage, but they paid for it. That’s kind of like standup behavior. Whether or not it would’ve been or could’ve been the grounds for a copyright infringement sue remains to be seen because they preempted that. But for other people in certain circumstances, it could’ve been those three notes. It heightened the awareness of that kind of stuff. 

Considering how most people don’t try to attack until the song gets big, is there a time frame in which people can sue?

No! “Got to Give It Up” came out in 1977 and it was a number one hit. So no, there are no statute of limitations on it. I just worked on a case for Bob Geldof from the Boomtown Rats on his song “I Don’t Like Mondays.” That song was written in the early ’70s and the piano player is now claiming that he wrote the main riff. They settled that at court in the U.K. The laws are a little bit different there, but it’s the same thing. It begs the question, where fuck have you been for 30 years? Now all of a sudden you’re saying you wrote this, but why now? But “Blurred Lines” came out in different circumstances. It came out when it came out but it leaned on these tropes from the song which came out in ’77. So there can’t really be any kind of time limit. Technically, here’s where the time limit comes in; for copyright, you own your song until 75 years after the death of the composer, that’s when the copyright goes into public domain. So that’s the time limit. If I want to literally, re-record “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa, I have to wait until all of the writers have died. And from the last writer on that song, I have to wait 75 more years and I can literally re-record it note for note and reclaim it as my own. But by that point, it’s like a “Happy Birthday.” It’s part of the fabric of the culture. No one really owns that anymore. 

So in Juice WRLD’s case, one of the newest claims is that Juice WRLD would have been subconsciously influenced by Yellowcard’s music. And he would have heard “Holly Wood Died” growing up. Is that a valid defense in these kinds of cases?

It doesn’t matter if he’s heard it. I have a feeling that what they’re arguing is going to be based off of the chord progression, which is not copyrightable and I can debunk it right now. That’s the whole precedence that was set with the George Harrison case. It doesn’t matter if they’ve had access to hearing it or not. It’s if there are similarities in the melodic arch, and the notes that they’ve chosen on each chord are the same note. “Lucid Dreams” has many more syllables happening in it, so it’s not going to look the same. But to your first question, it doesn’t matter if they’ve had access to it. They could’ve never heard it in their lives. It sounds like it’s similar enough, but they would either have to settle or they can be found guilty of infringement. 

In copyright cases, there’s a lurking idea of “subconsciously plagiarizing.” We talked about influence earlier, but every artist might not realize that they’re utilizing a previous influence. How would someone defend that claim in the court?

You don’t, it doesn’t matter. Because the intention has nothing to do with it. When you set out to do it, you did it willingly. Or you had no idea or it came to you in a dream or you grew up with a bathroom and you’ve never heard any other music in your life and the first song you wrote turned out to be “I Want To Hold Your Hand” by The Beatles, coincidentally… it doesn’t matter. But does it line up? So yeah, sometimes that’s probably the way it happens more often than not. Your instincts guide you to something you’ve heard before.The way that human beings appreciate and fuck with music, is that when you go to a show, you want to hear something familiar and see something you’ve never seen before. Those are the golden rules of putting on a great show. People want to go and jump up and down, and sing along. They want to have their mind blown by the theatrics on the stage, not the opposite. They don’t want to hear something new for the first time in a show and then see something they’ve seen everyday of their lives. They want to hear something familiar and see something they’ve never seen. So when we’re creating, our instincts rely on something we’ve heard before and that’s the way that we develop what it is that we’re doing. Then it’s how far away we can get from our influences that determine when people people consider us to be innovative. Innovators assimilate their influences and make something that gets further away from them.

I was reading your piece on Vulture, and I saw that T.I. got off the hook because he wasn’t a major figure in the creation of “Blurred Lines.” He just came in and did his thing. Who’s typically held accountable in these situations?

The songwriters. T.I.’s contribution was that he spit a verse on an already created piece of music. I don’t know that there’s a hard and pressed rule about this, but in that particular case, that’s the way it was looked at. They had this song, it sounded like “Blurred Lines,” and whether T.I. came in or not, it didn’t change anything about how it all kind of went down. He is on the copyright, because of the words that he wrote and put on top of the beat which could’ve been any beat. So he was kind of let off the hook in that respect. I think rightfully so, he had nothing to do with the argument that this song sounds like the other song. Robin Thicke was saying “Oooohhh!” left and right, which is a big trope of Marvin Gaye’s. He was using that, but no one can own that. Yes, it’s going to remind you of this other song, but its not against the law. T.I.’s part of that was that he was just a guest rapper who spit a verse on top of the already predetermined beat. And whatever the beat was, it would’ve been the same verse. 

And my last question is, I remember you saying that these kinds of cases can limit creativity and stifle innovation. If it’s starting to become such a sensitive thing, how can artists navigate without crossing any legal boundaries? Are there any solutions? 

We teach a class at the Clive Davis Institute called recycling pop music, which is just about that. And it studies all the way back to classical music, going back hundreds of years with great composers like Bartok who would go and take the folk melodies that they heard in villages in Austria and Hungary, and then co-op them and turn them into these grand classical music pieces. So the idea of recycling and copying is like fundamental to the creation of music. So knowing when you are conceptually borrowing when you’re borrowing for style, and when you are literally using the idea of another individual. Once again, those lines are blurred but there’s really no short answer for that. Its a lifetime of work to understand when you are…And it also comes with the intention. If I’m intending to fool you, thinking I wrote something that I know that I didn’t write, then that’s plagiarizing. If I accidentally come across the same thing, it’s tried out, and then it’s decided that it’s the same thing, then shame on me and I write a check and we move on. If I love Radiohead and write some of the same chords or some of the same drum patterns or tempos, or I sing falsetto and I’m developing my own thing and using some of the same colors that they use, no artist can copyright blue. But if I want to paint like Picasso’s blue period, I’m going to use a lot of blue, right? So if you’re using it to develop and come up with your own thing, it’s one thing. If you’re actively trying to fool somebody, it’s another. But that is the job of an artist. You can ask a thousand artists, and they’ll tell you that they want to be original. Good luck, because there’s no such thing. But it’s about how much distance you can get from your influences. If you think about Oasis, it’s two clicks away from The Beatles. And so, people find them derivative and some people love them for that, and some people hate them for that. But they don’t steal the actual notes, beats, and chords from The Beatles. They just sound a lot like them and they have the same haircuts and shit. You take something like the Wu-Tang Clan. They’re 10 clicks away from the Sugar Hill gang, even though they’re both using instrumental beats that came from songs before them. And they’re putting words on top of them in rhythm. So it’s how far away from your influences can you get. No one would ever look at the Wu-Tang Clan as trying to be Sugar Hill Gang. Whereas people would look at Oasis as if they’re trying to be The Beatles. So it’s how far enough can you get, that determines how “innovative or original”? But the reality is, they’re relying on the same techniques and the same tropes.