'WRLD On Drugs'—Future x Juice WRLD Mixtape Review

After teasing it earlier this week, rappers Future and Juice WRLD have come together to produce a mixtape that, in retrospect, we should have seen coming. Juice WRLD has made his admiration for Future no secret, and the influence of Future’s style on Juice WRLD is clear. I had high hopes when I heard of this mixtape’s release this morning but ended up feeling slightly underwhelmed.WRLD On Drugs includes impressive features such as Young Thug, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, and Gunna, as well as plenty of hard hitting beats. But perhaps that is the album’s downfall. Future and Juice WRLD’s over reliance on starpower and beats to carry the tape leads to some disappointing flows and lyrics. The features often feel rushed, as if they didn’t have time to write good lyrics and instead hoped the cosign alone would draw the interest of listeners.Lil Wayne on “Oxy” is probably the low light of the tape. The beat is hard enough to make it a club banger, but the lyrics lack the rhythm to make it fun and the hook is repetitive, bordering on annoying. Lil Wayne’s “weezy” voice is well established by now, but he’s laying it on a bit thick here. And this seems to be a pattern with the features on the tape. Rather than incorporate into the fold of the tracks, the features often ground against the general feel of the album. This leads to a situation where Juice WRLD and Future would seem to be firing on all cylinders for a song just to be interrupted by an awkward feature that sounds out of place. This is most noticeable on “Transformer (Ft. Nicki Minaj)” and “Ain’t Livin’ Right (Ft. Gunna).”However, the tape is certainly not bad. When Future and Juice WRLD are hot, they're hot. They deliver some unbelievable bars on “Jet Lag (Ft. Young Scooter)” and “Realer N Realer,” as well as their signature autotune rap-singing style on “WRLD On Drugs” and “Hard Work Pays Off.” Songs like these are what I anticipated from the collab. The lean-heavy rhymes and spacey beats are reminiscent of previous Future projects, and Juice WRLD’s melodramatic lyrics are ever present. In this sense, the tape delivers what was really expected, though not as consistently as it should.“Jet Lag” and “WRLD On Drugs” are without a doubt the highlights of the tape, and “Jet Lag” features one of the few features that meshes well with the rest of the tracks. Expect to hear them in clubs for the next few months. They’ve certainly earned it, as the two tracks are absolutely excellent and represent the full potential these two artists have when collaborating. They feature the steady guitar riffs that Juice WRLD beats are known for and have exciting hooks that will be easy to dance to.The album may not make incredibly ambitious moves at every turn, but it certainly doesn't shy away from taking a few chances. “No Issue” is easily the most experimental song on the tape, with an unorthodox beat and surreal lyrics delivered by Future. Juice WRLD steps in to give a much more muted and subtle delivery than what he provides throughout the rest of the album. It may seem out of place, and perhaps it isn't perfect in execution, but I commend the artists for stepping out of their comfort zone on the track.Overall, this tape feels rushed but still strong. From Juice WRLD’s yandere-tendencies shining through on “Fine China,” to some heavy flexing on “Make it Back,” this is a tape of highs and lows. It might have been better served if they trimmed the fat and released about half as many tracks. The features are ambitious but underwhelming but the beats are as top notch as usual. This tape leaves us with an important aphorism to apply to hip hop: features and beats make an album interesting, but only artistic vision can make it great.5/10