"Righteous" is a song by American rapper Juice Wrld. It is the first posthumous single released with him as the lead artist. It was released on April 24, 2020, via Grade A Productions through exclusive licensing to Interscope Records, as the lead single for his posthumous album, Legends Never Die.
Background and composition
Juice Wrld's family announced "Righteous" would be releasing hours before it was released at midnight on April 24, 2020.[2]Rolling Stone described the song as "pensive" and that it "addresses anxiety and trying to quell it by self-medicating while also acknowledging the cyclical addiction that ensues."[3]
Lyrically, Juice Wrld dances around the theme of death in the song with the lyrics "Over ice, I'm freezing/Beautiful eyes, deceiving/We may die this evening/Coughing, wheezing, bleeding," and "High, I'm an anxious soul/Blood moons are my eyes, stay low/Red and black, they glow/Under attack, in my soul/When it's my time, I'll know."[2]
Stylistically, Stereogum describes the track as a "melancholy swoon built from arpeggiated guitar riffs and moonbeam melodies; it's all smooth edges, moody textures, breathy vocals."[4]
"Righteous" was produced by Nick Mira and Charlie Handsome. Mira has worked with Juice Wrld in the past on multiple songs, including Juice Wrld's multi-platinum-certified single, "Lucid Dreams".[5] The song was recorded at Juice Wrld's home studio in Los Angeles.[3]
Music video
The official music video for the song was published on the same day the song was released on Juice Wrld's YouTube channel.[6] The video was directed, shot and edited by Steve Cannon.[7]
The first half of the video shows footage of Juice Wrld in his daily life including touring, traveling and recording at various studios.[8] The second half of the video is an animation depicting Juice Wrld fighting his inner demons before changing forms and leaving Earth.[9] The video concludes with him disappearing into space.[8]
Cannon first started working with Juice Wrld in March 2018 as a photographer and videographer.[10]
↑Murphy, Chris (April 24, 2020). "Juice WRLD's First Posthumous Single and Music Video, 'Righteous,' Is Here". Vulture. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
12Cubit, Brea (April 25, 2020). "Juice Wrld's Posthumous Video For "Righteous" Is an Emotional Ode to the Rapper's Life". POPSUGAR Entertainment. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
↑Roth, Madeline (April 24, 2020). "Juice WRLD Flies Into The Cosmos In His Posthumous 'Righteous' Video". MTV News. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
↑Nelson, Keith Jr. (January 29, 2019). "Tour Tales | Steve Cannon talks shooting Juice Wrld on tour and the funny moments that go down". REVOLT. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
↑"Righteous by Juice WRLD on Spotify". Grade A Productions/Interscope Records. 2020.
↑"Juice Wrld – Righteous" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
↑"Juice Wrld – Righteous" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
↑"Juice Wrld Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
↑"ČNS IFPI – CZ Singles Digital – Top 100 – 29. týden 2020" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
↑"Juice Wrld – Righteous". Tracklisten. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
↑"EESTI TIPP-40 MUUSIKAS: Mängu "Fortnite" toel on Travis Scott taas kõrgel tabelis". Eesti Ekspress (in Estonian). Retrieved May 8, 2020.
↑"Juice Wrld: Righteous" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat. Retrieved May 10, 2020.
↑"Offizielle Deutsche Charts" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. To see the peak chart position, click 'TITEL VON', followed by the artist's name. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
↑"Official IFPI Charts Digital Singles Chart (International) Week 28 2020". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2020.
↑"Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
↑"Tónlistinn – Lög"[The Music – Songs] (in Icelandic). Plötutíðindi. Archived from the original on May 7, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
↑"Official Irish Singles Chart on 1/5/2020 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
↑"Brazilian single certifications – Juice Wrld – Righteous" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
↑"Canadian single certifications – Juice Wrld – Righteous". Music Canada. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
↑"Danish single certifications – Juice Wrld – Righteous". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
↑"New Zealand single certifications – Juice Wrld – Righteous". Radioscope. Retrieved December 23, 2024.Type Righteous in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
↑"Portuguese single certifications – Juice Wrld – Righteous"(PDF) (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
↑"British single certifications – Juice Wrld – Righteous". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved September 3, 2023.Select singles in the Formats field.Type RighteousJuice Wrld in the "Search:" field.
