An Album A Day... Gets (Sorta) Emo
Juice WRLD - Goodbye & Good Riddance
And we’re back! Look at that, it’s day 3 already… time sure does fly! Anyway, welcome back to the series, where apparently the random album generator only knows about albums post-2015! It’s all good though, this is another album that I’ve been meaning to listen to for quite a while now, especially since I discovered a love for emo rap… so why not tackle one of the genre’s most popular and influential artists. Let’s jump right on in.
January 3, 2026 // Juice WRLD - Goodbye & Good Riddance
“I still feel your shadows in my room…” I can’t even count the number of times I heard that hook in high school. All my friends listened to the song religiously, and anytime the radio was on, you were bound to hear it 99.9% of the time. Its popularity was incomprehensible in 2018, and for good reason. “Lucid Dreams” had all the essential components: a catchy riff melody thanks to an interpolation of “Shape of My Heart” by Sting, melodramatic sing-a-long lyrics, and lush sounding production. However, this was during the height of my metalcore only days, so this record was about as far away as possible from my Apple Music library.
As I mentioned, I recently found a love for emo rap, diving into artists like Lil Peep and XXXTENTACION… yet for whatever reason I never really intentionally checked out Juice WRLD’s albums. Other than his hits of the aforementioned “Lucid Dreams” and “All Girls Are The Same,” the extent of my Juice knowledge was his feature on Ski Mask the Slump God’s “Nuketown.” Now, the glorious, all-powerful random album generator has brought it full circle, leading me right to Juice WRLD’s debut, Goodbye & Good Riddance.
To be quite honest, I was a little bit disappointed with the album. Now don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy it for the most part, but it doesn’t quite hit right for me. Songs like “I’m Still” and “Used To” are phenomenal and scratch that emo rap itch that I was looking for, with bassy Soundcloud grooves and a hint of twinkly guitars that round out the sound. However, there is just a bit too much fluff to the debut. Jams like “Armed and Dangerous” and “Scared Of Love” attempt to add some variety to the record with more upbeat trap-like beats, but they ultimately fall flat and sound out of place. While they are still enjoyable tracks in their own right, they don’t mesh well with the overall vibe of Goodbye & Good Riddance.
Although I was sort of let down by the overall experience, I can’t deny how influential it is to the commercial success of emo rap. Cheesiness and melodrama aside, Juice WRLD’s debut showcases all of the strengths of the genre, with pristine production, bassy beats mixed with guitars, and melodic vocals complemented by a tinge of stylistic autotune. Even though Goodbye & Good Riddance probably won’t make it into my album rotations, I can appreciate the genuine passion behind the music and what it means for the genre as a whole.
6/10Favorite Track: I’m Still
Least Favorite Track: Scared Of Love
Final Thoughts: This album took me back to high school… not just because of the sound of the music, but because I published this review with only a few minutes to spare before the midnight deadline.