During his Billboard cover shoot, Juice WRLD took some time to chat about what fans can expect from his forthcoming album Death Race For Love (out March 8) and why he views making music as his therapy sessions.
Asked by Billboard’s Chelsea Briggs what his biggest challenge has been through achieving success and creating his new record, Juice WRLD says that while many people who reach the position that he is in change and become “fake,” “phony,” and “paranoid,” he is still “the same down-to-earth person” he has always been.
The 20-year-old also opens up about what inspired his new album, as he explains that the track “Rider,” in particular, was influenced by the video games he played growing up. “I thought I’d just incorporate Twisted Metal and Death Race [into] hanging on to a relationship or doing what you have to do to maintain a relationship, or going through hell to fix something…to get somebody back,” he says.
“But the album is a little bit of everything,” Juice WRLD continues. “It’s not just rap, it’s not just rock, it’s not just jazz…it’s like a little bit of everything.”
Briggs then asks the rapper if his new material at all reflects his struggles with anxiety, to which he replies that it does. “That’s something that I feel like a lot of people neglect, which is completely and utterly wrong,” he says, adding that being an African-American man, he sees those issues getting especially ignored in his community.
“You tell your mom, or your dad, or your auntie, or whoever that you feel like you’ve got anxiety, you’ve got depression, you’ve got ADD, whatever, they’re gonna look at you like you’re crazy,” he states. “That’s not how it should be, but that’s how it is, and that needs to change, and hopefully I’m one of those people that could bring that change, or at least start a chain reaction for somebody else to come and do it after me.”
Juice WRLD also reveals that to him, making music can feel like a therapy session for him to tackle personal issues. “My music is like my therapy sessions, but there’s no confidentiality,” he shares. “I put it out there for people to receive, reevaluate, and learn, and grab my hand and walk with me through whatever they may be going through.”
You can watch the full video interview with Juice WRLD above, and you can take a behind-the-scenes look at his Billboard cover shoot below.