Juice WRLD might have been the only artist to have dropped an EP in dedication to the late rappers Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy AKA X*XTentacion and Lil Peep. His 2018 June EP release ‘Too Soon…’ contains two tracks, “Legends” and “Rich and Blind,” both dedicated to the memory of the two rappers who passed away prematurely. However, at the time of the release of “Legends,” Juice WRLD would have never imagined that his own words would manifest his reality. What does this song mean? Let us take a closer look.
On June 18, 2018, rapper X was shot dead in Florida and he was pronounced dead on the scene. He was merely 20 years old at the time of his death. Rapper Gustav Elijah Åhr AKA Lil Peep passed away due to a drug overdose in Arizona on November 15, 2017. He was merely 21 years old at the time of passing. Naturally, these two deaths shocked the hip hop community and left many in tears. Juice WRLD, a close friend of both deceased rappers, dropped “Legends” on the following day of X’s death, on June 19, 2018.
On December 8, 2019, Jarad Anthony Higgins AKA Juice WRLD passed away suffering a seizure at the Midway International Airport in Chicago. The rapper was bleeding on the floor when he was immediately transferred to a hospital but was pronounced dead at the hospital. It has not been a week since he celebrated his 21st birthday on December 2, 2019.
Listen to “Legends” by Juice WRLD
In an interview with 16BARS.TV, Juice WRLD said that “Legends” is his favourite track to perform; “that’s an emotional moment.”
Lyrics Review and Song Meaning of “Legends”
Intro
Juice says that he did not want to sing about death or even murder. But since everyone else is keeping their condolences to a Tweet, he is coming up with an entire song that will last forever.
Chorus
In the chorus of the song, we hear that Juice WRLD is clearly shocked about the events that had unfold in the past few months. In November 2017, Lil Peep passed away and in June 2018, X passed away. Having lost two of your close friends in quick succession makes you really ponder upon the fickleness of life.
Juice WRLD uses the phrases ‘this time’ to address the death of X*XTentacion and ‘last time’ to reference the death of Lil Peep. Death of X came as a shock as he was gunned down in open daylight. Lil Peep overdosed with Xanax pills laced with Fentanyl, a common pain medication.
Juice also says that both artists passed away at the onset of becoming mainstream artists. Both X’s and Peep’s songs charted well on Billboard Hot 100 prior and post their passing.
‘Demon youth’ is a term coined by Juice WRLD to slide into the generalized concept that the youth are the worst generation there is and was. The idea comes from the older generations claiming to be high and mighty, and the current generations considered to be weak and timid.
Verse 1
The ’27 club’ is a reference to the artists who have passed away at the age of 27. This list includes artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison and Fredo Santana. However, none of the three subjects of this article made it past their 21st birthday. And this, Juice WRLD penned in “Legends,” a year and a half before his tragic passing at the age of 21.
The rest of the verse is dedicated to Juice WRLD’s paranoia that artists keep falling dead around him. He awaits his imminent fate.
Interlude
Juice WRLD speaks for all three, X, Lil Peep and himself when he says that all they wanted to do in life was to get out of the troughs they were in. And in this process, they wanted to make people happy and do good however much they can. Just before his passing, Jahseh had announced his plans to start his own charity program, as well as partnering with Miami Children’s Initiative, a program dedicated to providing high-quality education to the youth.
Verse 2
In the second verse of “Legends,” Juice WRLD expresses his concerns about what is this world coming to. It is becoming more and more dangerous for the ordinary person to live in. A ‘legend’ gains so many enemies, and Juice WRLD rejects this title altogether because he would rather live. Juice WRLD tries to contemplate if the world would come to a disastrous ending if this trend continues. Well, he does not have to worry about this cursed existence anymore!
Rest In Peace Legends, X, Lil Peep and Juice WRLD!!!
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Drop your farewell messages in the comments.
Check out the complete lyrics and further meaning analysis to “Legends” on Genius.