ALBUM REVIEW: “The Party Never Ends” by Juice WRLD
On a cold English morning last Friday, at approximately 5AM in the UK, the highly-anticipated new Juice WRLD album finally arrived to millions of fans across the globe in their respective time zones. Following the previous posthumous releases of Legends Never Die in 2020, Fighting Demons in 2021 and the deluxe version of the latter in 2022, the American rapper’s latest posthumous album has been confirmed to be the final album in his entire discography.
Despite various delays to its release, The Party Never Ends at last arrived on 29th November 2024; this project serves as a follow-up to the artist’s last project Fighting Demons, which contained themes of hopelessness and struggle, whereas this new album is a conceptual one, seemingly crafted to make the listener feel like they are attending a Juice WRLD concert. I appreciate this specific attention to detail, having never gotten the opportunity to see Juice WRLD live myself before his untimely death.
Featuring vibrant cover art designed by Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, the release of Juice’s fifth and final album has been a long time coming. The story began on July 8th 2021 when the late hip-hop artist’s label released an official album trailer for The Party Never Ends, in addition to also sharing promotional cover art at the time. Drama and conflict arose between fans and the record label after Juice’s team postponed the album due to the 2021 release of a posthumous documentary film, about the late hip-hop artist’s life, entitled Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss. Two months later, the artist’s team hinted at a June 2022 release date but had to postpone the album again due to unexpected leaks occurring on platforms such as YouTube, Spotify and Soundcloud. Fast forward to 9th September 2024 and a four-track EP aptly called “The Pre-Party” was released, which included Young Thug collaboration “Lightyears” and immediately increased the anticipation that was already surrounding The Party Never Ends. On 15th November, an album single “AGATS2 [Insecure]”, featuring the one and only Nicki Minaj, dropped to fans’ surprise and delight. By the time the 29th of November rolled around, and the long-awaited album at last came to fruition, Juice WRLD fans were placed in a dreamlike state as they were finally able to listen to music they’d been eagerly waiting years for.
Since the album’s campaign and completion proved to be quite a challenge, the finished product may have disappointed critics and some of the fanbase but my experience with the album was not one of disappointment whatsoever. With an ambitious eighteen tracks and nineteen on the deluxe edition, The Party Never Ends 2.0), Upon my first listen to TPNE, my personal stand out tracks were “Barbarian”, an old song leak that has finally come to light and rightfully so, “Oxycodene”, a beautifully sad song about the torture of addiction showcased through metaphors, and “Spend it”, an anthemic love song and also another long-awaited leaked piece of music.
With production credits featuring the likes of benny blanco, Cashmere Cat and Eminem, to name a few producers on the extensive list, the sonic quality across the entire record is nothing short of impressive. I noticed that the new versions of previously-leaked songs had not drastically changed from the original demos, which I enormously appreciated as a long-time fan. Available to watch on YouTube now, the music video to “Misfit” really enhanced the second track on the album and provided fans with a striking short film to accompany the incredible music.
Juice WRLD has always impressed me personally due to his varied sound and his ability to effortlessly execute sub-genres of emo rap. After first discovering the rapper/singer-songwriter in 2019 through his breakout hit “All Girls Are The Same”, posted on the Lyrical Lemonade YouTube channel, I vividly remember watching this video and being intrigued by the captivating visuals, created by Cole Bennett, and in awe of Juice’s groundbreaking style of rap. Ever since that day, when I randomly discovered him on YouTube, I’ve been hooked on his music and a die-hard fan. A quick google search will show you how appreciative Juice Wrld was of his fans, as he explicitly talked about his love for them. For this reason, it’s clear that he wasn’t just a hugely talented artist but also a kind soul who always wore his heart on his sleeve, a trait which was admired by many of his fans, and still is.
Admittedly, I delved into The Party Never Ends with the inevitable excitement that comes with being a huge fan, but I was also determined to stay level-headed and open-minded whilst listening and, overall, I was very satisfied with the project, both as an objective listener and as a dedicated fan. If this album has assured me of anything, it is that Juice WRLD and his legacy can never be replicated in any way. Although he was taken from this world way too soon, at the mere age of 21, this concluding album, with its infectious flows and memorable choruses, has the power to provide a much-needed sense of closure for his devoted international fanbase.
Review Written by Ben Richards
